Editor,
Regarding your recent editorial about the councillors receiving little pay, perhaps “little” needs defining:
When I was Reeve of Thornbury in 1977 and 1978, the pay was $1,000 per year, which equates to $4,723 in today’s dollars. Councillors received a bit less, the Mayor a little more.
I doubt my old friend Ed Besworth made much more as Reeve of Meaford. We did get a small percentage as tax-free earnings.
Council & committee work was at least 20 hours per week, and all of us had full time jobs. It was open season on us in the evenings and weekends, as ratepayers telephoned us A LOT. It was strictly a public service.
Mike Robertson, Meaford
Editor’s Note: I can appreciate the perspective, though it is worth noting that the average individual income in the late 1970s was a little more than $20,000, and the average home cost in the neighbourhood of $50,000.
