Unsustainable Salary Increases
City Hall is expanding faster than the city it serves. In 2023, 85
municipal employees earned over $100,000—a 66% increase from 2018, when
only 51 staff appeared on the provincial sunshine list. In 2024
alone, three senior officials received double-digit pay hikes, with two
surpassing $20,000. The City Manager’s salary rose by $20,357,
while the Director of Public Works received an astonishing $21,404
increase.
These raises are especially troubling
given that many Owen Sound
residents struggle to get by on less than the value of a single one of
these raises.
|
Double- Digit Salary Increases in 2024 |
|
City Manager |
10.25% |
$198,668 - $219,025 |
|
Director, Public Works |
16.23% |
$131,889 - $153,296 |
|
Director, Art Gallery |
12.99% |
$108,971 - $123,122 |
Growing
the Workforce
Lately staff have resorted to issuing short term contacts. Is this
strategy an attempt to
avoid council-approval? I wonder how much of the work performed by these
contracted positions is work that should have been performed by existing
employees. Here are
just a few examples from last year:
-
Corporate Services Facilitator
—
18 month contract
[Read]
-
Intermediate Planner
—
13 month contract
[Read]
-
Human Resources Specialist
—
14 month contract
[Read]
-
Senior Planner —
12 month contract
[Read]
-
Capital Asset Risk Management Coordinator
—
5 to 6 month contract
[Read]
This bloated structure is unsustainable—and
unfair to taxpayers. Comparisons to similar municipalities like
Cobourg show:
-
Owen Sound has 9 more administrative
managers
-
$1.7 million more in
management salary costs
-
No justification for this growth, especially
with a declining population
Excessive Budget Growth
It looks like
the City Manager's salary increase coupled with new hires in the Office
of the City Manager are having an impact on the budget. You have to ask
yourself:
"What could the city do with
an annual expenditure of $385,066
directed on services
for the 50% of our population who are struggling with high rents
and the cost of living?"
Better still what if the
Art Gallery was returned to its 2018 budget freeing up another $200,482
and we combined this by rolling back the City Manager's budget to 2019
when the current City Manager was hired. That would free up
$604,548
each and every year to improve
services needed by those in the bottom 50% of the income scale.
Silencing of Residents
Public engagement has eroded.
When residents raise concerns, they’re often met
with silence—or amendments to the procedural bylaw to further restrict
input.
Failure to Address Urgent
Needs
While council funds lofty plans, unhoused
residents are sleeping in city parks.
The mayor has brushed
off homelessness as “not my problem—it’s a county issue”
But every
person in Owen Sound deserves to be heard and housed.
We’ve spent thousands on consultants—money that
could have kept 80 households housed through rent
supports. Instead, we’ve prioritized visioning over reality.
The 2026 election
could be the last opportunity to stop the decline
We need
to act now before it's too late - get involved in our city's future!
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