Municipal Elected Officials' Salary & Benefits
The salary and benefits for Elected Officials vary widely from municipality to municipality.
The salary and benefits for Elected Official vary widely from municipality to municipality. If one were to consider the hours spent at Council Meetings, Public Hearings, Public Meetings, general meetings, Conferences and meeting with constituents, the amount of pay at an hourly rate can be much lower than the minimum wage for many municipalities. The point is not to consider becoming a municipal elected official only for monetary benefits. Learn about the Municipal Elected Officials Salary & Benefit Survey.
Mothers, Sisters, Daughters…Did you know that while women make up more than 50 percent of our population, they make up a mere 21 per cent of municipal councillors and 7 per cent of mayors and wardens in Nova Scotia?
The municipal council is the governing body of the municipality. The council should reflect the diversity of views and opinions that naturally reside within the municipality. Too often this is not the case and decisions are made that do not fully take into account this diversity.
Speak to others who have served on the municipal council. They will be able to tell you first hand what it is like. They will have experienced the joys as well as the disappointments of being a municipal politician. This will help you decide if this is for you.
Remember that one of the hall marks of a successful municipal politician is continuous learning. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and to grow. Progressive municipalities will set aside monies in the annual budget to support the training and development of their municipal councillors.
Sincere desire to make your community better. This should be the main motivation for any form of public service including being a municipal councillor. A willingness to listen to a variety of demands place upon you and your time by individuals and groups in your community.
Being a municipal councillor means being a community leader. It is a place where you and your fellow councillors can make a real difference in the lives of the people in your community.
The Municipal Elections Act provides all the statutory requirements for a Municipal Election. For those thinking of running for a Municipal Election, you need to determine if you can run.
Making the
decision to run for municipal office is not an easy decision to make but
once it is made you should direct all of your energies to winning the
election. To do so you will need to have a well-organized campaign plan
in order to be successful.
Offering to stand for municipal election is certainly a noble and selfless contribution to the betterment of your community but it is certainly not the only way in which those who are so inclined can do so. Indeed there are many ways to make a contribution many of which require much less time and are not so much in the spot light.