By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
There were two high-profile issues on the Agenda for MNBP Council’s May 23 Meeting: the proposed extension of the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) to all accommodation businesses (ie including hotels, motels, cottages, B&Bs) and Council remuneration.
Neither issue was resolved but the discussions were lively.
The MAT was first brought in a year ago — a 4% tax on all Short-Term Rental Accommodations (STAs). For that first year, it applied only to rental properties that were zoned residential (colloquially known as AirB&Bs, despite the fact that many are rented through vrbo or Rentcottage.com).
Revenue from the 4% tax is to be split between the municipality and Tobermory Chamber of Commerce.
After last fall’s municipal election, new council member Todd Dowd wondered why this 4% tax didn’t apply to all overnight rentals. On Jan 9, 2023, Council requested a Staff Report on extending the MAT to all accommodations. A Treasury Report was submitted at Council’s March 27 Meeting and accepted by Council. The report was placed on Let’s Talk NBP for 30 days and generated only 40 comments and no significant pushback.
The Treasury Report submitted on May 23 proposes that the Bylaw will be passed on June 12 and will go into effect on July 1. Deputy Mayor Rod Anderson kicked off the discussion by wondering if it was practical to implement this tax on July 1. CAO Peggy Van Mierlo-West stated that there has been some pushback, but the majority of businesses know this is coming and it will work. The municipality will collect the revenue itself, rather than through a third party; the new website which permits this also goes into effect on July 1.
Lion’s Head Shuttle Renewed
Council voted to sign an agreement with Golden Dawn to provide shuttle bus service in Lion’s Head this summer.
Councillor Compensation
The last Council commissioned a study of Council compensation by consulting firm Ward & Uptigrove, but when the report came in, shortly before the election, Council was in its lame duck period and was forced to defer a decision to the next Council. This leaves the current Council in the awkward position of having to decide on their own paycheques.
Deputy Mayor Rod Anderson jumped in, arguing against an incremental approach to pay increases. He pointed out that pre-amalgamation, Councils met once a month, at 7:00PM on a weeknight. They got an honourarium and that was OK. It wasn’t a lot of money but one evening a month was manageable.
But it’s not like that anymore, he continued. Meetings are held during working hours and there are at least two of them every month. “As a Council, we’ve got tons of rules, regulations and responsibilities. And if we’re going to get any new people in this job — and by new I mean younger — we’ve got to make it feasible for young people to leave a job and come to a meeting, let alone spending half an hour on the pavement talking to somebody then walking ten feet and doing it again with someone else. A 20% raise sounds like a lot but when you look at the numbers, it’s not much — it’s not enough. We need to double what we’re being paid.” He suggested $20,000 for a Councillor and “double that for the Mayor”. Take out the per diem allowance and add it to the salary — council members should be paid for their job and attending meetings is part of that job. He noted that it takes 4 hours to drive to and from Walkerton for a meeting and that a per diem is definitely needed for meetings further away. “We need to start looking at making the monthly/yearly pay enough to entice young people to aspire to this.” He described the report as “following back on old thinking”; he suggested we need to set a precedent by significantly improving councillor pay.
Councillor Smokey Golden did not disagree with his main argument, pointing out that former Councillor Megan Myles brought this up last fall when this report was first submitted. Councillor Myles found it very difficult to earn a living while serving on Council. Councillor Golden noted that she herself took many years off because she could not do a full-time job and be on Council. Mayor Milt McIver pointed out that the raises recommended in the report would only bring MNBP up to the 20th percentile among comparable municipalities. The CAO noted that MNBP aimed for the 50th percentile when negotiating pay with municipal staff. The Mayor asked “Does the 20th percentile ever come into the conversation when we’re negotiating with staff?” “Never,” he was told. The Mayor then agreed that it shouldn’t be part of the conversation with Council members either. “I think there’s a way to get there…” But he would like to see the per diems retained.
Councillor Todd Dowd stated that he hadn’t considered the pay when he ran for election, “But what I see is — we’re being vastly underpaid. I look at the money I’m losing by being here today — aiming for the 20th percentile is not the right way”. The Mayor agreed.
Councillor Aman Sohrab — a generation younger than the rest of Council — agreed. “I don’t think an average person in my peer group could do it, especially those who have kids.”
The CAO pointed to the charts in the consultant’s report — wondering if Council wanted to move to the median like staff? Councillor Golden and the Mayor both noted that current recompense is “off the bottom of the chart”. The Mayor wondered if it would be better to get to the median in two jumps. Council elected to defer its decision.
The Ward & Uptigrove report can be found online in the Agenda for Council’s May 23, 2023 Meeting.
