In addition to considering lower tax increase options for the 2026-2030 Draft Financial Plan, this week Langford city council approved pay increases for the next mayor and council.
A third-party consultant firm analyzed the City’s compensation levels for the mayor and council, comparing them to municipalities with similar size populations
Following this review, staff provided an update on the consultant’s findings.
Council then voted to approve remuneration increases for the City’s elected officials, with implementation of the pay increases deferred until after the October local election.
At that time, annual remuneration will increase by $13,600 city councillors, and by $30,000 for the mayor.
This will bring city councillors’ annual salaries to $47,817. The mayor’s annual salary will be $124,656.
One of the driving factors for councillors to support these pay increases is that better compensation could motivate more residents to run for public office, thereby encouraging diverse voices with varying lived experiences on council.
The increase to the Langford mayor and council’s remuneration was not discussed as a way to lower the currently proposed 15.13% property tax increase for 2026.
Neighbouring municipalities’ council remuneration increases
The Victoria city council also recently approved a pay hike for the next sitting mayor and council, and faced considerable backlash for the endeavour.
In Victoria, the base salary for the mayor will go from 2025’s rate of $135,810 to somewhere between $165,000 and $170,000.
Victoria councillors will see their pay increase from $54,287 in 2025 to approximately $75,000.
For context, the latest census data shows that the City of Victoria has a population of approximately 92,000, whereas the City of Langford’s is around 46,600.
This week, Sidney’s council also approved pay increases for its mayor and council, but this pay increase will not be implemented until 2027.
The mayor’s salary will increase by 28%, rising to $61,872 from the current 2026 rate of $47,314.
Sidney councillor salaries will increase by 38%, bumping them up to earning $26,605 compared to the current 2026 rate of $18,899.
Councillor pay will now be tied to the mayor’s remuneration, and set at 43% of the mayor’s salary.
The latest census data shows that Sidney has a population of just 12,300.
