During the regular council session of November 1^st, 2011, Council adopted by-law no. 872 concerning the remuneration of elected officials. The mayor’s new base salary was adjusted from $27,367 to $52,000 while that of all councillors was adjusted from $9,122 to $11,000. The mayor’s expense allowance was increased from $13,683 to $14,951 while that of councillors was increased from $4,561 to $5,500. The global annual remuneration for all seven elected officials rises from $120,000 to $166,000. Each fiscal year, the base salary will be indexed to the cost of living. This by-law is not retroactive to January 1^st, 2011.

Let’s recall that the base salary of elected officials varies considerably from town to town depending on the number of residents serviced, the methodology and criteria used to census and calculate those same salaries. In general, and in light of various analyses comparing the remuneration of Saint-Lazare elected officials to that of comparable towns, the new global remuneration for Saint-Lazare’s elected officials remains, in 2011, below the average global remuneration of elected officials for comparable towns. Also, let’s recall that the remuneration of elected officials has not been revised since 2003 to reflect the Town’s important demographic growth which has been bringing Council an increasing load of new challenges, responsibilities, implication and accountability towards its fellow citizens.