The cost of governing Petrolia just increased.

Monday, council approved a council compensation bylaw which increases the salary for the recently created deputy mayor’s position from $14,631.61 a year to $21,285.50 per year – an increase of $6,653.89.

The increase – which was not included in the 2024 budget passed last month – was Mayor Brad Loosley’s idea. “I worked it out with the clerk,” he says.

“We looked at other municipalities and what they did is, they took the councillors pay and the mayor’s pay it (the deputy mayor’s compensation) is pretty well in the center of the middle. That’s where the other municipalities pay their deputy.”

That worked out close to $7,000 extra, the mayor says, less than the estimated $7,500 to $8,500 it would cost if Deputy Mayor Joel Field would file for pay for each event he attended.

Currently, Loosley says he asks Field to attend many meetings with him. “He’s attending all the meetings that I considered are really important or serious. I have him come to all of the meetings that I go to as well… whether it be developers or a bank, whatever. I have him there for all of those meetings.

And that is I think it’s a good idea …so he knows if I’m not there…we’ve always got something to pass on to council.”

Council, at Loosley’s urging, created the position after the mayor took an extended medical leave of absence. Loosley appointed Field the acting mayor at that time and then urged council to create the deputy mayor position to make sure there is continuity if the mayor is ill. Council agreed the mayor
of the day should choose the deputy whose appointment would be approved, in camera, by their council colleagues.

When asked by The Independent if it was proper for a mayor to appoint someone on council to a higher paying position, Loosley said it was a good point and it was some- thing council could consider in the future.

“I wanted to make sure the councillor had already been on a previous council.”

Council passed the bylaw without questions. Field did not attend the meeting.