The cost of Newmarket’s nine-person council rang in at $768,484 in salary, benefits and expenses in 2019, according to an April 1 report released by treasurer Mike Mayes.
The itemized statement of remuneration and expenses details payments made last year to council members and appointed statutory board members, in accordance with legislative requirements.
As the town’s top political boss, Mayor John Taylor received a town salary of $97,393, plus $41,214 in town benefits and expenses, a regional salary, benefits, and expenses package totalling $72,216, plus an $11,880 yearly stipend from Newmarket-Tay Hydro for sitting on its board.
That’s a total of $222,703 in compensation paid to Taylor in 2019, which includes his seat at the council table at the Regional Municipality of York.
Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh, who also sits on regional council, received a total compensation, benefits, and expenses package from the town and York Region of $160,791.
Vegh spent 78 per cent of his $7,500 annual town budget, while Taylor expensed just $7,500 of his available $23,300 annual budget.
Newmarket’s seven councillors, whose roles are considered part-time, each received a salary, benefits, and expenses package worth about $78,000 a year on average. That includes per elected official a yearly $5,871 car allowance, a $1,200 per year cellphone subsidy, and an annual $6,800 expense account for discretionary spending.
All nine members of Newmarket council came in under their respective budgets in 2019 when it comes to spending.
Councillors Grace Simon and Bob Kwapis spent the least of the yearly budget at 54 per cent, while councillors Kelly Broome and Christina Bisanz spent the most, or more than 70 per cent of the allotted $6,800 a piece.
Bisanz attended two government conferences that are reflected in her expenses, and a significant portion of Broome’s spending went toward hosting meetings and events for her ward constituents.
Meanwhile, Councillor Victor Woodhouse’s $1,450 in payouts last year to a “private individual” for management of his personal website drew the ire of a local taxpayers’ group.
In an April 6 post on social media, the Newmarket Taxpayers’ Advocacy Group (NTAG) asked its followers what they thought of Woodhouse’s yearly expenses for administration and management of his website.
About half a dozen residents expressed condemnation for not naming the payee as a lack of transparency, and others questioned the value of a website that appears to publish the same information as the town’s official website.
“While councillors are allowed discretion on the use of their expense accounts, NTAG questions the best usage of taxpayer dollars paid to a private individual to repeat information that is already on the town website and in all town communications,” president Kathy Toth told NewmarketToday.
Woodhouse, meanwhile, defended the expense and said it is money well spent on real-time communications with his constituents on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, his personal website, and some print material.
The individual to whom he pays the equivalent of about $120 per month creates posts for local Facebook groups, searches out relevant news stories to share on social media, and reposts informative content on Woodhouse’s website to help keep constituents informed.
“This is discretionary and it’s related to communications, and what I look at before I ever spend a penny is if I was the resident and I looked at the councillor’s expenses and saw $1,500 a year on communications for residents, I’d ask, is that worthwhile? That’s how I look at it and I would say, yes, that’s worthwhile,” said Woodhouse.
When asked about naming the individual who is being paid for the work on expense accounts, Woodhouse said it is a town policy not to name payees who are self-employed, such as face painters at children’s areas during a councillor’s community event.
“I will tell you that the individual is not related to me in any way,” Woodhouse said. “It wasn’t my decision to not name the individual, it’s the town’s best practice when it comes to paying individuals who are providing a service outside of a company.”
To read the remuneration and expenses report in full, visit here.
