Page 2...- RECOMMENDATIONS ; , 1. The Task Force recommends that the Mayor and Councillors’ compensation and expense indemnification be reviewed at intervals, not exceeding three years and that the reviews be conducted by an independent Task Force during the last three months of the triennial term. Rationale: The concept of sa independent review is, we believe, to the advantage of council] and ratepayers. it is obvious from our discussions that in the main, all members of cour:i1 do act in the best interests of taxpayers, however, sometimes that is not perceived to be the case. The proposed process would assist council in its efferts to retain the confidence of the citizens of Port Coquitlam. Also, by having the Task Force report in the final three months of the triennial tenn, the new council - when it takes office - will not he seen to have unduly influenced the process for the incoming council. 2. The Task Force recommends that the salary of the mayor be increased, annually, by a percentage which would not exceed the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Metropolitan Vancouver, for the previous 12 months. | Rationale: In our review of comparable indemities for mayors throughout British Columbia we concluded that, in the main, the package for the position of Mayor of Port Coquitlam was reasonable. To increase the package annually by not more than the previous year's Consumer Price Index for Metropolitan Vancouver, would be seen to be reasonble, in the view of the Task Force. However, it would still be within the purview of the mayor and council to either forego the increase entirely, or, increase it by only a fraction of the change in the Consumer Price Index. 3, The Task Force recommends that the salary of councillors he increased to (34.5% of that paid to the mayor for 1994; to 35.5% of that paid to the mayor for 1995, and to 36.5% of that paid to the mayor for 1996. — Rationale: In our review of comparable indemities for councillors, there tended to be a traditional relationship of 33.3% to that of the amount paid to the mayor. We attempted to determine the appropriateness of the relationship and could not do so, at least to our satisfaction. | We do not question in any way the time and effort required to be a conscientious and effective mayor, but believe that a conscientious councillor is well worth something closer to 40% of what the mayor's position would pay. — ‘In. our reviews of time spent, we concluded that an effective councillor would need to spend somewhere in the vicinity of 1,100 to 1,400 hours per year on council business, which is equivalent to well in excess of half of a | traditional 37.5-hour work-week. Such time includes attendance at regular council and canmittee meetings, preparation time for meetings,. attendance of public. functions, meetings with citizens, telephone calls and complaint = “resolution, etc. At the current rate , $14,634 per year, a councillor working © 1,100 hours in a year (and we heliev would in all likelhihood be on the = low side) would earn $13.30 per houy_; PAORuivalent of $498.99/for.a 37.5. _hour-week. - Po NM ,