Windsor mayor takes $50K pay cut, while councillors get slight bump

Drew Dilkens has not stated whether he plans to seek re-election this fall.

Windsor’s next mayor will make $50,000 less than Drew Dilkens does now. On Monday, city council majority agreed to redistribute some of the mayor’s salary to give each councillor a $5,000 pay increase next term without collecting more money from taxpayers. The move, which was Dilkens’s idea, brings the mayor’s annual pay down to $168,949, plus taxable benefits — the average salary for mayors in similarly sized cities.

City councillors elected this October will make $59,723, still below average for Ontario cities with similar population sizes, according to a staff report. “This is forward-looking,” Dilkens told reporters following Monday’s meeting. “Who knows who the mayor will be?

Who knows who’s going to be around city council table? “It puts more money in councillors’ pockets, reflecting that they get no expense reimbursement for mileage — and it brings me down to the average.” Dilkens has not stated whether he plans to seek re-election this fall.

So far, only one city councillor, Ward 8’s Gary Kaschak, has officially entered the race, with the deadline to file still more than a month away. Councillors Fred Francis (Ward 1), Angelo Marignani (Ward 7), and Kieran McKenzie (Ward 9) voted against the wage adjustments. Francis said he had no issue with a reduction in the mayor’s salary, but he wanted the savings to be put aside for council to discuss during 2027 budget deliberations.

“Council, with respect to administration, would determine what the priorities of the day are and allocate that $50,000 accordingly,” he said. McKenzie said he believes councillors are underpaid. However, he took issue with the process council undertook to achieve its pay raise.

“Elected officials’ compensation is always going to be controversial,” he said. “We don’t have enough information, in my view, to support what’s being proposed.” Also on Monday, city council agreed to convene a citizen committee to review council compensation next term.

It’s typical for a committee of citizens to review city council’s compensation in the middle of each four-year term, though that did not happen during this council’s tenure. The committee typically recommends wage adjustments for council members, who decide on compensation for successors — but who don’t usually give themselves raises or pay cuts. The committee will also decide whether city council should change from a part-time position to a full-time job.

Related Dilkens pitches mayoral pay cut to boost councillor compensation 'Demanding job' — but is it full-time? Windsor to review council workload, pay “It has been a full-time job since the day I got here,” said Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac, who was first elected in 2003.

“I’m expecting the review, in terms of it being a full-time position, is naturally going to mean the compensation gets adjusted, too.” Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino agreed the position should be considered full-time, and he wishes the pay was higher.

He said he’d missed 20 calls from residents in need of assistance during the first four hours of council’s Monday meeting. “I certainly give credit to the mayor for looking to do something to try and help,” he said, acknowledging the $5,000 pay increase. Council also voted to have a hired consultant conduct a review of Windsor’s ward boundaries next term.

Despite changing population distribution, with more growth in some neighbourhoods than in others, the city’s ward boundaries have not been adjusted since 2010. tcampbell@postmedia.com