How much municipal politicians should be paid is a thorny question on the campaign trail

The municipal election campaign is underway and ultimately the hundreds of people running for mayor or council in northeastern Ontario are applying for a job.

One of the trickiest decisions they'll face is how much they should be paid. 

Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger, who is running for a third term against eight challengers, faced criticism this term after his salary, including benefits, jumped up to $228,000.

He says this was because of a change in federal income tax law, where municipal politicians were no longer exempt and city council decided to increase the pay for mayor and councillors so their take-home pay wouldn't take a hit. 

Bigger — who pointed out that former MP Paul Lefebvre, now one of his main rivals in the mayor's race, voted for "downloading" those costs to Sudbury taxpayers — says he doesn't believe that higher pay attracts better candidates.

"I'll say you have a very good candidate here in the incumbent," he said, referring to himself. 

"If I went to the private sector, I could be earning significantly more and yet it's an honour to serve the people of Sudbury."

Bigger says he doesn't think voters are worried about how much he makes and that certain "hateful" Facebook pages are trying to make it an election issue. 

But other candidates feel how much politicians are paid is an important issue in this election.

"I think, and I've been there, for the amount of work that the councillors do, they're overpaid," said Ozzie Grandinetti, a former Sault Ste. Marie city councillor, now running for mayor.

"I've always said, most of these elected officials, whether you're federal, provincial or municipal, they're not there for the people that vote them in. They're there for themselves."

Grandinetti, who says he's heard from a lot of voters frustrated that their city councillors don't answer their messages, says he would freeze salaries at $82,000 for the mayor and around $24,000 for council, plus donate 10 per cent of his pay to charity.

Andrew Marks has served five terms on Timmins city council and is going for a sixth. He earns about $22,000 a year, but says he would do it for free. 

"Yes I would. I came back to Timmins wanting to make a difference and it's never wavered from that," he said. 

"I've never done this for the money. I do have a full-time job that pays the bills. It really is about service."

In this last term, Marks asked for a review of the mayor's salary, knowing that incumbent George Pirie wasn't going to run again and wanting to make sure it was "competitive" and would attract could candidates.

He was pleased to find out the mayor of Timmins is the second highest paid in northern Ontario, with the $101,000 paycheque topping what the mayor makes in larger cities such as Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay. 

"I'm looking for the best person to run for mayor. I want them to live comfortably," said Marks. 

In some small towns and townships in the northeast, mayors, reeves and councillors are paid only a small honorarium and in some cases are volunteers.

In Mattawa, the mayor for the town of 1,800 makes $10,000 while the councillors get $7,500.

Raymond Bélanger, the town's former chief administrative officer now running for mayor, says he feels most municipal politicians deserve a raise, partly because social media means they're never off the clock. 

"For many councillors, the job has become a 24/7, even if they are only compensated as a part-time employee or a volunteer," he said.

But Bélanger says council faces a "significant challenge" reviewing their own pay as it's "perceived as a conflict of interest" and usually get a reaction from the media and public that is "mixed at best."

"They tend to think all politicians are overpaid, but municipal politicians are the ones you tend to see. You can see them walking down the street, you see what they do," said Paul Seccaspina, president of Sudbury-based Oraclepoll Research, which tracks the opinions of voters across northern Ontario. 

"That's the difference from federal and provincial politicians."

Seccaspina says promising to cut or freeze council pay might get you a few votes, but candidates are better off talking taxes or road repairs.