York Region council cost taxpayers more than $1.9 million in 2024, with chairman Wayne Emmerson and Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas leading the way in expense payments.
That figure is the combined total for salaries, benefits and expenses of all 22 members of regional council, down slightly from more than $2.03 million in 2023.
The now-retired Emmerson claimed $17,483 in expenses in 2024, according to a memorandum presented to council Mach 20, tops among all regional council members.
In second place, Mrakas claimed $13,034 in expenses, while Vaughan Regional Councillor Linda Jackson was third with $7,006 claimed.
For Newmarket, Mayor John Taylor claimed $3,225 in expenses, while Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh did not claim any.
The region reports on council expenses annually, independent of any expenses council members may claim at the lower-tier municipal level. Eligible expenses can relate to board appointments and are required to be reported by the Municipal Act. The region’s memo does not include a detailed breakdown of expenses.
The average expense claim across all 22 members of regional council was about $3,232 in 2024, with nine members of the council not claiming any expenses at all.
Mrakas’ expenses include those incurred for board meetings at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. However, his expenses are higher than other council members who also served on the FCM board, including King Mayor Steve Pellegrini ($6,581) and Richmond Hill Deputy Mayor Godwin Chan ($2,596).
On the salary side, most regional council members were paid $63,000 in salary. Benefits ranged from $10,000 to $17,000 for most, but four council members had less than $3,000 in benefits. Mrakas was also slightly below average in benefits, at $8,516.
Emmerson was paid substantively more, at $257,922 in remuneration and $48,836 in benefits.
This is the third consecutive year in which Mrakas claimed the second-highest expenses on regional council, only trailing Emmerson. In 2023, Mrakas claimed $11,160 in expenses, slightly behind Emmerson at $12,636. The third highest expense that year was Vegh, who expensed $5,512. Taylor expensed $3,834 that year.
Amidst some pandemic impact in 2022, Mrakas also claimed $4,500 behind Emmerson, who expensed $11,277. Mrakas was more closely followed by Pellegrini expensing $4,373, with Taylor expensing $4,016 and Vegh expensing $3,758. That year, 18 members of council did not claim any expenses.