Richmond city councillors voted Monday to give themselves a 27-per-cent pay hike for their first raise in 15 years.



Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie will
now be paid $92,000 a year. (CBC file)
Under the new pay scale, councillors' salaries will rise to $41,000 a year, while the mayor will get $92,000.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie defended the increase, saying it was time for the city's elected officials to catch up financially.

"They give up considerable personal [time] — and often business time — in order to make the commitment to the public. That's what their motivation is," Brodie said. "If you look at the figures, pay increments have not kept pace."

The raises are based on an independent report on salary scales of elected municipal officials across the Lower Mainland.

Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt believes the increase is justified, considering all the work that she and her colleagues do.

"I spend three hours prepping for a meeting. I spend a minimum of three hours at a meeting, sometimes eight hours and I devote all Monday to council, all day Tuesday to council and I attend other meetings," Halsey-Brandt said.

"My job is to read, is to investigate, and my job is the make the best decision based on that, and it takes time."

Two councillors objected to the raise, saying the time isn't right to hike their salaries.

Brodie says if they feel strongly enough, they do not have to take the extra money.