Rules come into effect after May election
Woodstock Town Council spent a great deal of time at their last meeting discussing the mayor’s role and remuneration.
“We’re living in a different environment than maybe how our community was when I was growing up,” said Woodstock Town Councillor Will Belyea. “These aren’t simple matters to navigate. I think you need to set up a level of security in terms of a stipend, like we’ve come up with. It’s very reasonable. But it offers people from various different backgrounds to be able to, if they want to, put their foot forward to come in and try to move this town forward. I think this provides a good opportunity for that and I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, council passed the third reading of by-law 602.01, which outlines an updated mayoral remuneration schedule that will change after the next election, with payments sliding based on the number of hours the mayor decides to work.
Over the last few bylaw readings, three members of the public have written in with their questions and concerns, as well as support for a full-time mayor. Council took the opportunity to help clarify some of the reasoning behind their new approach to mayoral compensation.
“What the public needs to understand is that we are not employees,” explained Mayor Trina Jones. “The Mayor is not an employee of the town. There is no power or ability to dictate how many hours the mayor contributes or any council member. Obviously, there’s meetings that need to be attended and obligations, but outside of that, there’s very little control over what the mayor chooses to put in for time towards the role.”
Whoever takes the mayor’s seat after the May 2026 election will be paid an annual stipend of $32,000 if they take on the position in a part-time capacity. The municipality will also match RRSP contributions of up to $2,000 a year after one year of service and allow up to $1,000 a year in council-approved professional development and leadership training.
By comparison, a mayor who takes the job full-time (32-50 hours a week) will receive an annual stipend of $50,000, an RRSP match of up to $4,000, and professional development training of up to $2,000 a year. In addition, if the mayor continues to maintain direct oversight of the municipal police department, they will receive an annual stipend of $8,000.
Councillor Julie Calhoun-Goodridge explained that this new approach to compensation was meant to encourage mayors to operate full-time while also allowing a buffer if they decide not to.
Ultimately, if the mayor isn’t spending the time needed to do some of the work, then the town would have to pay someone else to put in those extra hours. Councillors say this new stipend plan allows for that flexibility.
Several members of the council pointed out that few people could afford to work the hours now required of Woodstock’s mayor without proper pay, aside from someone who’s retired and already on a pension or others with financial stability who don’t need a full-time income. The council hopes the changes they’ve made will help open the job to a wider range of candidates.
“We really strongly feel this town needs a full-time mayor,” said Callhoun-Goodridge, “There is so much work to be done. That is why we put our efforts into making it very clear and hopefully attractive to get multiple people to potentially want to do that role. They have to be able to afford to do the role.”
Mayor Jones explained that different municipalities have different needs. Many current mayors across the province hold down full-time jobs while also serving as mayors. She and the rest of the council feel that this municipality requires a greater commitment than that, one that she has been in a position to give.
“Every municipality is different,” said Mayor Jones. “We’re (one of only a few) with a municipal police force. We have higher public works activity than most other municipalities. We have major utility, water and sewer infrastructure to monitor and manage and our budget is substantially higher than everyone else.”
In an email to the River Valley Sun, Mayor Jones elaborated on the council’s civic oversight of the police. She explained that, as the civic authority, they liaise with the Police Commission and the Department of Justice and Public Safety whenever required. She noted that, as part of that responsibility, she handles managerial reviews and minor confidential customer complaints. Any major customer complaints are brought before the council so they can collectively determine their next steps.
“The civic authority is also responsible for setting the budget, approving organizational changes and hiring, and capital expenses,” wrote Mayor Jones. “The civic authority is not responsible for police operations; all police operations must follow the NB Police Act and it is the responsibility of the Chief of Police to ensure police operations are following the act.”
Jones said that while she assumes the day-to-day oversight of the police, the council is regularly updated, and any financial decisions are brought straight back to the council.
If the mayor didn’t look after day-to-day civic oversight, the responsibility would fall to the CAO, and he would need additional staffing to support him in that role, especially right now while they’re dealing with the expansion.
Mayor Jones also said that having a qualified mayor taking those responsibilities is more work for the mayor, which is why the council chose to recognize that with the additional stipend, but they feel that even with that stipend, that’s still more cost effective then the additional staff costs would be.
The Town of Woodstock Police Force will be expanding its operations over the next couple of years to cover the newly amalgamated boundaries. The expansion will take the force from covering approximately 15 square km to 532 square km by 2027, requiring twice as many staff and having the mayor and council manage a much larger budget.
“The Council reserves the right by way of resolution of council to change the civic authority to a board of commissioners at any time, and could therefore address any changes to any remuneration being provided to a mayor for those specific duties if the responsibility shifts,” Mayor Jones wrote. “Such a decision would require a lot of thought and planning and is not the desire of the current council, which is to maintain civic authority.”
Deputy Mayor Mark Rogers told council that he thinks some members of the public are confused about the roles of the mayor and CAO. He explained that it’s the mayor’s job to lead the council, and that the council is in charge of policy and any changes to those policies. By contrast, the CAO is responsible for the staff. He explained that while some of their duties may overlap a bit, they are separate responsibilities.
“If the public is not happy with the direction that the council has taken, they can vote for a new mayor. They can’t vote in a new CAO,” said Deputy Mayor Rogers.
Rogers also noted that having a full-time mayor overseeing things keeps more power in the community. Without the mayor overseeing things, there could be a situation where a CAO ends up taking on more responsibility for some decision-making than they should. In that case, the public wouldn’t have the same recourse that they can when it’s the mayor.
“It’s a good thing to have a full-time mayor because the public can do something about it every four years,” Rogers pointed out. “Those that are on the inside can see it’s working well and things are moving ahead. Hopefully, that’ll show in the ballot box in May.”
After the meeting, the River Valley Sun polled the council. Everyone except Councillor Julie Calhoun-Goodridge plans to run in the upcoming municipal election on May 11.
