Steinbach Mayor Chris Goertzen has formed a Mayor's Task Force to examine the rate of pay and benefits for members of city council. The three people appointed to the task force are Chartered Professional Accountant Sarah Neufeld, John Peters of the Bethesda Foundation and former Mayor Les Magnusson who will serve as chair. Goertzen says they will research rates of pay and the workload, make comparisons to other municipalities and levels of government, then make recommendations.

Mayor Chris Goertzen"We're asking them for advice on compensation for council members. It's difficult for council members to decide on what they should get paid and so this is a transparent way to get advice and we look forward to see how a growing community can compensate its council appropriately."

He notes Steinbach has historically been quite conservative when it comes to remuneration for members of council.

"I certainly think council has been very responsible with what they've allotted for their compensation. At the same time, we know we're a growing city, we know that there's a lot going on in our community and the roles have evolved and changed. So we want to set that (the pay scale) appropriately so we continue to get good people running for council and that it's fair."

The current pay scale is about $32,000 for the mayor, $15,000 the deputy mayor and $12, 500 for councillors. Goertzen adds the task force will prepare a written report and recommendations by November 15th.

"Council will take the advice and, after reviewing it, they will decide if action is taken immediately or if it gets taken, possibly, after the following election."