A $13,628 pay raise for Toronto city councillors will be considered next week by members of the city’s executive committee. But it’s an idea that’s not getting much traction.  Budget chief and executive committee member Frank Di Giorgio says “in an election year there is no appetite for a large increase.”  City Councillor Michael Thompson, who’s also on the  executive committee, simply burst out laughing at the proposal.

The executive committee has two choices in considering the issue; hike the pay of council members by $13,628 annually so they make the same as 75 percent of local politicians across the country, or maintain the status quo of a cost of living increase.  At $105,397 Toronto city councillors earn at the 37th percentile of local representatives in Canada.  Toronto’s mayor sits at the 61st percentile with a salary of $177,499 a year.