St. Catharines Council considering $10k pay hike, implications of bringing forestry services in-house, and increase to grant program to help residents impacted by flooding
Niagara Democracy Watch is The Pointer’s weekly feature aimed at increasing the public’s awareness and political involvement in the Niagara Region by highlighting key agenda items, motions and decisions.
Council Meeting
Date: October 7 - 5:00 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live
Councillors contemplating $10K wage increase for next term
On October 7th St. Catharines City Council will consider a recommendation to increase their wages by $10,000 starting next term. Always a controversial subject, the pay hike recommendation came from a citizen task force that, if approved, would see the annual salary of council members increase more than 35 percent from the 2023 annual salary of $27,030 to $37,000. The wage increase would not be implemented until the next term of Council, commencing November 2026.
Currently, council member wage increases (not including the mayor) are tied to a percentage of the average income of all individuals filing a tax return in the City of St. Catharines. The percentage that has been used in recent years has been 55.5 percent.
In 2022, City staff reviewed the 2021 wages of comparator municipalities. St. Catharines councillors made approximately $25,000 at the time and while that amount exceeded the Niagara council average of $18,714, it was well behind the $42,394 average of municipalities with similar populations.
Based on the disparity with comparators, the staff report recommended that the percentage of the average earned income be increased by 4 percent per year over the next term of Council until it reached 71.5 percent of the average earned income. The result would have had councillor wages reach $32,684 (based on 2019 average income) by 2026, the final year of the next council term.
During the May 16, 2023 debate on the report, Councillor Greg Miller (Ward 1 - Merritton) contended that the proposed change was a “correction” and would speed up the timeline to rectify the disparity between St. Catharines and other municipalities. Miller argued the increased wage would attract a more diverse candidate pool. Walter Sendzik, the mayor at the time, offered that council being in the bottom 10 percent of municipalities was “not a badge of honour and should be embarrassing to Council.”
Councillor Carlos Garcia (Ward 6 - Port Dalhousie) felt that the proposed wage increase was not fair in light of St. Catharines residents suffering economically. His fellow ward councillor, Bruce Williamson said that the current model for councillor wage increases was not broken and with technological advancements, the workload of a councillor was reduced. Councillor Joe Kushner (Ward 2 - St. Andrew’s), who has been on Council since 1976, echoed Williamson’s comments and suggested that a committee of residents would be more appropriate to review remuneration.
Mayor Sendzik moved the motion to approve the wage increase, but it was defeated narrowly in a 6 to 5 vote. Of the current sitting councillors, Miller and Robin McPherson (Ward 4 - St. Patrick’s) voted in favour, Garcia, Williamson, Kushner, Dawn Dodge (Ward 5 - Grantham), Bill Phillips (Ward 2 - Grantham) and Matt Harris (Ward 2 - St. Andrew’s) were opposed.
With a new term of Council, in March 2023, Councillor Kevin Townsend (Ward 3 - St. George’s), who had been absent from the 2022 vote, moved a motion directing staff to prepare a terms of reference “for a citizens task force to review remuneration for Council, boards, agencies, and commissions.” Councillor Garcia questioned the necessity when a review had just been conducted the previous year but Mayor Mat Siscoe, who had watched the 2022 debate, felt the motion was in keeping with Councillor Kushner’s suggestion of a citizen’s lead process. Councillor Phillips, who voted against the wage increase, indicated he had no issue with a review as it did not necessarily predetermine a wage increase. Townsend’s motion passed with Councillors Garcia and Williamson opposed.
It is not to say that council wages have been frozen after the 2022 effort failed. In 2023, the base level wage received by a St. Catharines council member was $27,029.64, a 6.5 percent increase from the previous year (55.5 percent of $48.702, the average earned income of St. Catharines residents).
The task force was eventually populated with four citizen members with experience in human resources, finance and compensation methodology. The members represented organized labour, education, business and non-profit sectors. With the assistance of staff, the task force reviewed the 2022 report, updated wage and benefit data from other municipalities, analyzed the market and formulated the recommendations included in Monday’s report.
Like the 2022 exercise, Monday’s staff report highlights that the wage for St. Catharines councillors continues to lag behind comparable municipalities of approximately the same population size, with the average at almost $45,000. The analysis, however, does not compare the tax base of those comparable municipalities. Other rationale for the increase includes the hope it will attract a more diverse set of candidates and despite the councillor position being part-time “for many councillors the job has become 24/7.”
When the comparison is made to Niagara municipalities, St. Catharines councillors are paid above the average, which is at $23,413 according to staff’s calculations. All three of Niagara’s most populated lower tier municipalities, St. Catharines ($27,029.64), Niagara Falls ($27,754.09) and Welland ($27,356.94), paid their councillors roughly the same amount in 2023.
While the report recognizes that any council pay raise “is often met with unfavourable public opinion along with apprehensive political conditions”, the task force lands on a recommendation that is the “mid-point between the average lower tier comparator municipality and the current salary for St. Catharines.” If approved, the increase would be effective for the beginning of the next Council term in 2026.
The report indicates that the increase would have a $118,577 impact on the budget, representing an estimated City tax increase of approximately $1.68 or a 0.10 percent increase for the average household based on approved 2024 tax rates.
The task force report includes further recommendations, including that the municipality cease with the current methodology of determining councillor remuneration and wage increases based on the average earned income for all individuals filing a tax return. While the methodology “worked in the past”, it has created the situation of salaries falling behind comparators with no hope of ever catching up, the report states. In addition, there were no examples of other municipalities that used the same methodology. As a result, the task force is recommending that future increases for Council members be tied to the economic adjustments provided to non-union staff, a common practice in other municipalities.
Other recommendations in the report include a healthcare spending amount of $1,000 per councillor be considered in the next draft budget, elimination of the $2,000 honorarium for the Budget Standing Committee Chair (most recently, Councillor Garcia) and to not proceed with a shared office space at City Hall for the part-time councillors.
The staff report can be read here.
A proactive program to deal with basement flooding
St. Catharines Councillors will consider changes to the municipality’s Flood Alleviation Program (FLAP) that will increase grant amounts; proactively deal with flooding issues; and assist with the development of basement accessory dwelling units to improve housing opportunities.
The FLAP program has been available since 1992 to residential properties that have experienced basement flooding. The program provides rebates to allow the homeowner to install basement flooding protection devices and other measures, such as mainline backwater valves installed on the building’s sewer lateral; the disconnection of weeping tiles from the sanitary sewer; and reconnection to a sump pump and related piping and electrical connections.
The municipality budgets $148,900 for FLAP. The uptake for the program is dependent on the number of extreme weather events in a given year. Major flooding in 2019 resulted in approximately 150 applicants and $450,000 in rebates spread over that year and 2020. Since then, the numbers of applications have been between 12 to 16 a year, amounting in less than $52,000 per year.
While arguably a successful program, FLAP is reactive in that rebates have only been available to those that have suffered flooding. An action item of the City’s Climate Action Plan is to review the program with the goal of helping residents make their homes more resilient, reduce environmental impacts of extreme weather events and protect properties before flooding occurs. In addition, staff saw the possibility of advancing actions under the City’s Housing Plan by supporting residents installing basement accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
The current maximum grant amount is $3,500, an amount that has not increased since 2014. With other construction costs rising, staff is recommending that the FLAP grant be raised to 90 percent of eligible expenses to a maximum of $5,000 plus the cost of the plumbing permit fee.
To qualify, the property must be in St. Catharines; be connected to the municipal wastewater system, not a septic system; and be a single-detached residential house (including duplexes and triplexes etc.) or both sides of semi-detached home built before 2012. No longer will the property have to show a history of flooding. The grant can only be for expenses incurred by the homeowner and approved by the City and the work must be completed by a qualified and licensed plumbing contractor.
While legislative changes and more permissive zoning have lead to an increase in basements being converted into ADUs, Building Code requirements necessitate significant plumbing costs for these developments. Staff see an opportunity to increase housing availability by the “innovative” use of FLAP grants, which they believe will be unique to St. Catharines.
The report recommends that owners of existing basement ADUs that want to install flood protection devices be eligible for a top-up grant of 90 percent of eligible expenses up to a maximum of $10,000, plus the cost of the plumbing permit fee. If approved, this aspect of the program will be financed through the federal housing funds the municipality received in January.
The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) is the $4 billion federal program to help alleviate the current housing supply shortage. St. Catharines secured $25.7 million through the fund. Part of the City’s funding application was to adopt climate-resilient housing measures. The plan would be for the ADU pilot project to last for the duration of the HAF program.
To avoid “double dipping”, homeowners will not be able to avail themselves of the FLAP program, if they have made application under Community Improvement Plan (2020CIP).
At its meeting of August 26, 2024, Council amended the 2020 CIP to increase the financial incentive program that provides a one-time grant of up to $40,000 (to a maximum of 70% of eligible costs) per unit to help offset project costs for the retrofit or construction of an interior accessory dwelling unit within an existing primary dwelling unit.
One other modification to the FLAP program, if approved, will enable seniors enrolled under the City’s Water and Wastewater Senior Credit Program to receive a rebate up to $500 for eligible expenses.
The proposed changes were endorsed by the City’s Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee, which provides input to City Council and staff on matters related to the natural environment and infrastructure.
The staff report can be read here.
Comprehensive report on Forestry Operations and Services
Monday’s agenda brings forward a promised “comprehensive report” on the City’s Forestry Operations and Services.
The report is in response to a motion moved by Councillor Miller in January for staff to prepare “a comprehensive report by Q3 2024 on the forestry division operations to include the status of current in-house operations and an analysis of bringing all operations in house including tree planting and maintenance, stumping and reinstatement.”
During discussions for the 2024 budget—the first under the Strong Mayor Powers granted by the Province that allowed Heads of Council of larger Ontario municipalities to put their stamp on the annual municipal budget—Mayor Siscoe, proposed the elimination of the forestry section of the City’s Municipal Works department. He recommended contracting out the service instead.
The mayor’s proposal seemed at odds with the City’s own website which touted that the Forestry Services department “helps to nurture a healthier urban forest.”
In defending his budget, the mayor pointed out that 60 percent of tree cutting was already being contracted out and that all stumping and tree planting was done by outside businesses. According to his proposal, $465,000 of savings would be realized in 2024 and $701,000 in 2025. The mayor also stated that contracting out would have no impact on the municipality’s efforts to increase the tree canopy, the strategic priority with the most support around Council. He defended the proposal as not a cut in service “but a reduction in cost and a change in philosophy.”
Mayor Siscoe’s proposal galvanized public opposition, with a packed Council Chambers and nine delegates speaking against the possible move. Councillor Caleb Ratzlaff (Ward 4 - St. Patrick's) introduced an amendment to the Mayor’s budget keeping the forestry services “in house” that met with unanimous approval. Mayor Siscoe did not exercise his veto rights under the Strong Mayor’s Powers.
At the time, in a comment to The Pointer, Rory Bourgeois, CUPE 150 secretary, remarked, “A unanimous vote means a lot to our workers. It seemed like council values our trees, and I got the sense that they may want to invest in that department.”
Monday’s report attempts to explain the staffing model, the services that are contracted out and the departmental oversight of forestry functions within the corporation.
Currently, tree maintenance operations, which includes pruning, removals and inspections, are under the authority of the Municipal Works department. Nine full-time staff comprise three of the crews, along with an inspector and a supervisor (11 total).
There is an additional three-person crew made up of contracted staff. Also, two contracted staff are tasked with stumping and reinstatement (5 total).
The tree planting function is under the supervision of Community Recreation and Culture Services. While a City staff person from the department handles contract administration as part of their duties, the entire four-person planting crew is contracted out.
The 2024 operating budget for tree maintenance was approximately $2.1 million dollars, with a capital budget of $380,000 for plantings.
According to the staff report, to bring the existing forestry services in-house, there would need to be 12 additional staff, comprising three Arborist I positions, two Arborist II positions, five forestry labourers, a backhoe operator and an additional supervisor.
While there would be $485,000 in cost savings realized from the elimination of the contracted services, the operational cost increase of bringing all forestry services in-house is estimated at $1,831,297.
The staff report also points out that along with the staffing resources required, the municipality would need to invest in additional equipment. A capital cost of nearly $2 million dollars would be necessary for an aerial lift truck, a chipper, a stake truck, a flatbed trailer, a backhoe and a stump grinder.
Staff indicate that while the total financial commitment would equal $3,818,868, there would be other factors that could impact the timing of bringing forestry services in-house.
The municipality does not have a location to house the additional equipment required and the time from purchase to delivery of specialty vehicles can take up to two years. In addition, the municipality has had difficulty filling vacant positions within the section.
Since April of this year, the municipality has been attempting to fill four Arborist II positions (arborists trained to work around live electrical utilities) but have only been able to hire two qualified staff. A work-around agreed to with the Union has been to increase the use of Arborist I positions and create a Forestry Labourer position.
With the costs and the various operation implications indicated, staff state that they “are not making a recommendation” regarding bringing contracted services in-house but are providing the information for Council’s “consideration”.
Monday’s report also does not delve into the “resources required to meet the City’s proposed tree canopy targets.”
In August, Council approved staff’s recommendation to endorse a reduced tree canopy coverage goal of 25 percent, but the target advocated by Councillor Townsend that would see 100,000 trees planted in the municipality by 2030 is still under consideration.
During the August meeting, Darrell Smith, the City’s Director of Municipal Works, estimated that 260,000 trees would need to be planted over the next six years to achieve the 25 percent canopy coverage, to which Councillor Townsend remarked, “that sounds like a lot more than 3,400 trees annually”, the amount currently planted by the City.
The resources required to meet the ambitious tree planting goal will be the subject of another report. Despite the lack of a firm recommendation with Monday’s comprehensive forestry report, if Council wishes to proceed with the service delivery model change, staff promises an implementation plan for Council’s future consideration.
The related staff report can be read here.
Past reporting:
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