In Regina, the position of city councillor is considered a part-time job.
The compensation for councillors is determined by cabinet minister salaries. The mayor gets 77 per cent of a minister’s pay and a councillor receives one-third of the mayor’s salary.
Shawn Fraser, the current councillor in Ward 3, said he won’t be seeking re-election on Oct. 26.
“It’s work I enjoy,” he said. “But, it’s also at the expense of spending time with your family. So, that’s certainly part of the decision for me not running.”
Louis Browne spent two terms representing Ward 1. Throughout his political career, he also worked as a lawyer at a private firm. He said career demands influenced his decision to not seek re-election to council in 2012.
“It was becoming unsustainable to continue with the family, with the full-time day job and then this also almost full-time council job,” Browne said.
A review of cities with similar populations show Regina councillors start at $36,268. Councillors in London and Kitchener make $39,000 and $48,694 respectively. In Saskatoon, councillors make a full-time salary of $54,646.
In larger cities, with populations over one million people, councillors work full time. Salaries range from $80,029 to $116,312 in Calgary.
Regina councillors said a higher wage could draw more candidates to future elections.
"As a part time job, it works for retired people,” Fraser said. “It works for real estate agents and a few other types of jobs. But, it would be really hard if someone was a teacher and wanted to leave their career to run for council. We don't see that happening."
Regina’s municipal election will take place on Oct. 26.
