Council compensation is back in the spotlight in Aurora, set for discussion at the Committee of the Whole meeting on December 2, 2025. The town plans to re-establish the Council Compensation Committee and adopt new Terms of Reference, giving the committee a clear mandate. An updated report is expected in the second quarter of 2026—but the real headline is the $25,000 consultant being hired to review councillor pay. The controversy runs deeper: after the last review, the mayor vetoed proposed raises and publicly shamed councillors for requesting what many consider fair compensation. Now, the town is poised to spend $25,000 for a consultant to essentially confirm what was already obvious: Aurora councillors are underpaid.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/auroraourtown/posts/1920466795175740
The conversation on the Facebook thread revolves around the Town of Aurora’s decision to re-establish a council compensation committee and hire another external consultant for $25,000, despite a previous committee—made up of local business owners and HR professionals—having already completed a thorough review using comparisons from nearly 30 municipalities. Many participants note that the earlier findings were clear: councillors in the town are significantly underpaid, especially given that the reduction in council size has increased workloads without compensation changes for almost a decade. Several commenters emphasize that when the role is performed properly, it requires a near full-time commitment involving extensive reading, research, preparation for meetings, and continuous engagement with residents and stakeholders.
Concerns are raised about political motivations behind revisiting the issue, including claims that the Mayor Mrakas has used compensation discussions as a political tool by highlighting selective numbers to shape public reaction while omitting key context. There is also frustration about the lack of transparency in how committee members are chosen, as the selection process takes place behind closed doors—though some acknowledge this has historically been the case.
Overall, the thread reflects a combination of frustration over repeated studies, political maneuvering, and limited transparency, along with broad agreement that councillors who genuinely commit to the role deserve fair and competitive compensation for the substantial workload it demands.
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I have a simple solution to this. Let council approve the recommended increase to take effect upon the next council taking office following the 2026 election. The voters can decide if they are ok with this, or do they think the councillors are being hypocritical in approving this increase while at the same time proposing a 0% property tax increase for 2026. My objection to the initial proposal was that the councillors were unilaterally voting for a pay increase for themselves shortly after being elected, knowing what the pay was when they ran for office. Did any of them inform their constituents that they were planning to do this? Maybe the increased pay will attract better qualified candidates.
I think council members missed the opportunity to form the compensation committee or governance committee before the start of the 2022–2026 council term, which is why that committee ended up being created during the term. That said, they did follow the proper process once they moved forward. I was surprised that Cllr. Thompson didn’t take the initiative earlier, given his role in helping establish the governance committee in 2017 and his awareness that compensation would eventually need review. I’m also disappointed that the mayor chose a public “council shame” approach rather than taking a leadership role and collaborating with council on this issue.