AGENDA - Ad Hoc Governance Review Committee - 20170606Governance Review
Ad Hoc Committee
Meeting Agenda
10 a.m.
Holland Room
Aurora Town Hall
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Public Release
June 2, 2017
Town of Aurora
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee
Meeting Agenda
Date: Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Time and Location: 10 a.m., Holland Room, Aurora Town Hall
1. Approval of the Agenda
Recommended:
That the agenda as circulated by Legislative Services be approved.
2. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof
3. Receipt of the Minutes
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes of May 23, 2017
Recommended:
That the Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee meeting minutes of May 23,
2017, be received for information.
4. Delegations
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 Page 2 of 3
5. Matters for Consideration
1. Interim Report No. 1 of the Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee
Re: Council Compensation Review Process
Recommended:
1. That Interim Report No. GRAHC17-001 be received; and
2. That, if the Federal Government commitment to end the one-third tax-free
provisions of Council compensation does not occur in time for the
commencement of the next term of Council, the existing one-third tax-free
provisions of Council’s compensation be discontinued beginning in the next
term of Council; and
3. That as part of the final recommendations of the Governance Review Ad
Hoc Committee, the base compensation of members of Council be
increased to at least off-set the impact of the additional income tax burden
to the members of ending the one-third tax-free treatment; and
4. That for purposes of evaluating and reviewing the compensation of
members of Council, Council supports the Mayor role being considered as
“full-time” while the eight current Councillor roles being considered as “part-
time”.
2. Round Table Discussion
Re: Additional information re committee commitments and
compensation from other appointments
(to be distributed at the meeting)
Recommended:
1. That the discussion regarding Committee commitments and compensation
from other appointments, be received for information and the comments of
the Committee be referred to staff for consideration.
3. Round Table Discussion
Re: Discussion of upcoming meeting schedule
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 Page 3 of 3
Recommended:
1. That the discussion regarding the upcoming meeting schedule, be received
for information and the comments of the Committee be referred to staff for
consideration.
6. Informational Items
7. New Business
8. Adjournment
Town of Aurora
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee
Meeting Minutes
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Time and Location: 10 a.m., Holland Room, Aurora Town Hall
Committee Members: Anita Moore (Chair), Anna Lozyk Romeo (Vice-Chair), Steve
Hinder, Terry Jones and Bill Hogg
Member(s) Absent: None
Other Attendees: Dan Elliott, Director of Finance, Sandra McKenzie, Manager
of Human Resources, Michael de Rond, Town Clerk
The Chair called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
1.Approval of the Agenda
Moved by Terry Jones
Seconded by Anna Lozyk Romeo
That the agenda as circulated by Legislative Services be approved.
Carried
2. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof
There were no declarations of pecuniary interest under the Municipal Conflict of
Interest Act.
3.Receipt of the Minutes
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Minutes
Page 1 of 3
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 Page 2 of 3
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes of May 9, 2017
Moved by Steve Hinder
Seconded by Terry Jones
That the Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee meeting minutes of May 9, 2017
be received for information.
Carried
4. Delegations
None
5. Matters for Consideration
1. Receipt of Council Compensation Review Materials Binder and Verbal
Presentation by Staff
Re: Review of Council Compensation Review Process, Binder
Materials and suggested Discussion Topic Areas
Staff provided a brief overview of past compensation review exercises and
answered preliminary questions from the committee members.
The committee agreed to provide recommendations to Council regarding
whether individual Councillors have full-time roles or part-times roles and
whether the Town will provide further compensation to elected officials, should
the federal government remove the 1/3 tax exemption that is currently afforded
to municipal councillors.
Moved by Steve Hinder
Seconded by Bill Hogg
1. That the binder of Council Compensation Review Materials be received;
and,
2. That the verbal presentation by staff be received.
Carried
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Minutes
Page 2 of 3
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 Page 3 of 3
2. Round Table Discussion
Re: Overview of Council Compensation and Prioritization of Discussion
topics
The Committee agreed that a preliminary report to Council would be
appropriate before proceeding with the remainder of the review. The report
should include recommendations to Council to remain as part-time Councillors
and to provide additional compensation should the 1/3 tax exemption be
removed.
Moved by Steve Hinder
Seconded by Bill Hogg
1. That the Round Table Discussion regarding Overview of Council
Compensation and Prioritization of Discussion Topic Areas be received
and the comments of the committee be referred to staff for consideration;
and,
2. That staff prepare a draft report to Council for the committee’s
consideration at the next meeting.
.
Carried
6. Informational Items
7. New Business
8. Adjournment
Moved by Bill Hogg
Seconded by Terry Jones
That the meeting be adjourned at 11:45 p.m.
Carried
Committee recommendations are not binding on the Town unless adopted by Council at
a later meeting.
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Minutes
Page 3 of 3
Town of Aurora
General Committee Report GRAHC17-001
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Interim Report #1 of the Governance Review Ad Hoc
Committee
Submitted by: Chair and Members of the Governance Review Ad Hoc
Committee
Date: June 20, 2017
Recommendations
1.That Report No. GRAHC17-001be received; and
2.That, if the Federal Government commitment to end the one-third tax-free
provisions of Council compensation does not occur in time for the
commencement of the next term of Council, the existing one-third tax-free
provisions of Council’s compensation be discontinued beginning in the next term
of Council; and
3.That as part of the final recommendations of the Governance Review Ad Hoc
Committee, the base compensation of members of Council be increased to at
least off-set the impact of the additional income tax burden to the members of
ending the one-third tax-free treatment; and
4.That for purposes of evaluating and reviewing the compensation of members of
Council, Council supports the Mayor role being considered as “full-time” while the
eight current Councillor roles being considered as “part-time”.
Executive Summary
The Governance Review Ad Hoc Advisory Committee has recently turned its attention
to its mandated review of compensation of members of Council.
This report is prepared to update Council on two matters which have been debated, and
which, in the opinion of the Committee, will have a direct impact on future discussions in
other aspects of our Council Compensation review.
By bringing this interim report, Committee seeks to obtain Council support for the
recommendations of the Committee in these two matters, or in the alternative, a clear
Council position with respect to these matters. Council’s position on these two matters
will then set the context for our future discussions and recommendations.
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Item 1
Page 1 of 5
June 20, 2017 Page 2 of 5 Report No. GRAHC17-001
•Proposal to eliminate the current one-third tax-free treatment of Council
compensation, and to gross-up the base compensation to make take home pay,
net of the new taxes similar to today’s amounts.
•Proposal to consider the Mayor role to be a full-time commitment while the eight
Councillor roles to continue to be considered part-time commitments.
Background
The Governance Review Ad Hoc Advisory Committee’s mandate and terms of
reference include reviewing the compensation of members of Council. This review
entails consideration of a number of aspects of what is considered part of
compensation. This report considers two elements of our review, being the one-third
tax-free treatment of compensation, and the full-time vs part-time status of members of
Council. Our future discussions and recommendations will include the following areas:
•Recommended compensation amounts
•Expense provisions/allowances
•Transition payments policy
•Benefits (health & dental, OMERS pension, income protection plans)
One-third tax-free treatment of elected officials’ compensation may be legislated
away.
Council currently receives one-third of its salary as “deemed expenses” which is then
tax free under provisions of the Municipal Act and the Income Tax Act. To continue such
arrangement, Council must review this bylaw at least once each term. Should the one-
third status be discontinued, it cannot be restored in the future, as this option has now
been removed by changes to the Municipal Act. Any existing arrangements are
grandfathered under the new provisions, but must be confirmed at least once each term
by resolution.
In early 2015, this Council confirmed continuing the one-third tax free treatment for this
current term of Council.
The Federal Government recently announced intention to eliminate the current one-third
tax free provisions for elected officials at all levels of government. Although no
regulation or legislation to do so has been introduced, the Committee considered this
issue. The Committee considered whether it would recommend ending the one-third
tax-free treatment of Council compensation even if the federal commitment did not
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Item 1
Page 2 of 5
June 20, 2017 Page 3 of 5 Report No. GRAHC17-001
materialize. As part of this conversation, if the one-third tax-free treatment was ended
one way or the other, discussion was had as to whether the base compensation should
be increased to off-set the lowered net take-home pay which would otherwise result.
The Committee believes in the principles of transparency and accountability, particularly
when it comes to compensation of elected members. Ideally, compensation of Council
should be readily understood by the public. The one-third tax free status may be seen to
lack transparency, making comparisons difficult. To remove the one-third tax free status
and gross up the base salaries to result in a similar net-pay for the recipients would cost
the corporation approximately $65,000 to $70,000 per year.
The Committee believes that increased transparency and accountability is a worthy
goal, and recommends ending the one-third tax free treatment of Council compensation.
Further, Committee believes that the increased transparency and accountability is of
higher value than the relatively minor budget impacts of increasing Council
compensation to off-set the additional taxation impact to their take home pay.
Accordingly, Committee recommends as follows:
THAT, even if the Federal Government commitment to end the one-third tax-free
provisions of Council compensation does not occur in time for the
commencement of the next term of Council, the existing one-third tax-free
provisions of Council’s compensation be discontinued beginning in the next term
of Council; and
That as part of the final recommendations of the Governance Review Ad Hoc
Committee, the base compensation of members of Council be increased to at
least off-set the impact of the additional income tax burden to the members of
ending the one-third tax-free treatment.
Full-time versus Part-time status of elected Councillors
Due to the commitments of being both an elected member of the Council of the Region
of York, and to fulfil the responsibilities of being the Mayor and meeting the statutory
responsibilities of the Municipal Act of the Head of Council, fulfilling the role of the
mayor of Aurora has long been considered a role equivalent to that of a full-time
position. Day meetings, ceremonial and governance responsibilities together with the
many other responsibilities, the Mayor position requires at least 35 hours per week.
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Item 1
Page 3 of 5
June 20, 2017 Page 4 of 5 Report No. GRAHC17-001
In considering the requirements of being a councillor elected at large, although some
members by personal choice may commit more time than others and attend more
meetings than others, the Committee sees no compelling reason that the duties and
expectations of being a Councillor for Aurora could not be fulfilled on a part-time basis.
This position is supportive of candidates who wish to serve in this capacity while
maintaining a full time career elsewhere.
Accordingly, Committee recommends as follows:
THAT for purposes of evaluating and reviewing the compensation of members of
Council, Council supports the Mayor role being considered as “full-time” while the
eight current Councillor roles be considered as “part-time”.
Financial Implications
The GRAHC recognizes that there will be an annual budgetary impact of eliminating the
one-third tax free portion of members of Council, however believe that the transparency
and accountability gains off set the increased costs of approximately $65,000 per year.
Alternative(s) to the Recommendation
1. Council may provide different direction to the GRAHC by adopting recommendations
different from those presented by Committee.
Conclusions
The Governance Review AD Hoc Committee has turned its attention to its mandated
review of compensation of members of Council. The Committee requires confirmation
from Council on a couple of interim recommendations which will shape the more
detailed discussions and recommendations of the Committee in our future work in this
area.
Pre-submission Review
Each member of the Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee has reviewed this report
and are unanimously in support of the recommendations and content.
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Item 1
Page 4 of 5
June 20, 2017 Page 5 of 5 Report No. GRAHC17-001
______________________________ ______________________________
Anita Moore Anna Lozyk Romeo
Chair, GRAHC Vice-Chair, GRAHC
Governance Review Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Item 1
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