Dear Editor,
Thank you for raising this important issue regarding municipal councils granting themselves pay increases. Your editorial echoes concerns felt by many citizens, and I believe an additional point deserves attention. While I am not aware that Hawkesbury Council is pursuing a raise at this time, the broader principle remains relevant to our community and to many others across Ontario.
Compensation should always reflect performance, responsibility, and stewardship of public funds. Yet in municipalities such as Hawkesbury, we have too often seen council members rewarding themselves while simultaneously outsourcing the very intellectual work their positions require. Increasingly, topics that once demanded thoughtful debate, background understanding, or critical analysis are sent directly to consultants. This practice not only inflates the cost of government, it also diminishes the expectation that elected officials should understand, contemplate, and lead.
When councils rely on consultants to think for them, the taxpayer pays twice: once for the poor decisions of the past, and again for the consultant hired to explain what went wrong.
In that context, self-approved raises feel even more out of step with reality. Most residents do not have the luxury of avoiding their responsibilities, nor can they pay someone else to do their thinking for them. And certainly, no one gets to reward themselves for it.
Perhaps, before awarding raises, councils should invest in courses or training that improve their ability to reason, analyze, and engage with complex issues. Only then could increases be justified as contributing to better governance rather than merely adding to its cost.
A self-imposed raise, especially under these circumstances, is simply not acceptable.
Sincerely,
Michael MacDonald
Hawkesbury
