Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 26/01) - Yellowknifers could find themselves voting for six councillors instead of eight in the next city election if the current council agrees with a new report.

Committee members David Connelly, management consultant David Hamilton, legislative assembly clerk Michel Bourassa, territorial court judge Robert Slaven, former city councillor Rick Upton, manager of board operations with the Department of Health and Social Services Bob Haywood, president of the NWT chapter of the Public Service Alliance of Canada

The "remuneration review committee," struck by council last spring, recommends shaving council by two members to fall in step with comparably sized municipalities across Western Canada.

The move would save the city $24,452 a year -- not counting travel and honoraria costs.

According to the report, 23 of 25 western cities with populations between 15,000 and 50,000 maintain a council with only six members and a mayor.

The report also recommends cutting the position of assistant deputy mayor and streamlining financial benefits.

"The main theme was transparency, to make it uncomplicated for the rate-payers to see how public officials are being paid," said committee member and management consultant David Connelly.

Base salaries for council and the mayor are now tied to management salaries. As a result, says the committee, the annual increases since 1991 "may have not been communicated to the public."

The mayor's income, for example, derives from five different sources, some of it non-taxable.

He receives a fuel allowance, non-taxed vacation pay, a non-taxed municipal officer's allowance (MOA) and housing allowance, on top of a base salary of $48,956, of which five per cent is invested in a retirement fund.

The committee recommends lumping it into one taxable salary of $107,138.

Councillors receive income from two different sources on top of their $9,150 base salary -- $4,757 in non-taxable MOA and $1,187 in honoraria.

The committee recommends one base taxable salary of $17,187. The taxable equivalent of the MOA, meanwhile, is $6,850.

Council will debate the merits of the recommendations at a priorities, policies and budget committee meeting next Monday, but some minor rumblings have already emerged over the committee's failure to call for a pay increase for councillors.

Aside from a recommended $1,000 for committee chairs and minor adjustments in changing non-taxable income to taxable, the report held the line on current salaries.

"I see nothing here about raises," said Coun. Kevin O'Reilly. "It's something I will voice during debate."

In another hint of what might come in a possible salary debate, Coun. Ben McDonald said, "I'm on council for public service, not for personal sacrifice."