The contentious subject of remuneration for Orangeville council will be discussed anew Monday when an ad hoc committee presents its recommendations at a public meeting in the town council chambers.

Originally scheduled for 4 p.m., the meeting has been moved to 7 p.m., to accommodate people who are returning from work, and is scheduled to run to 8 p.m.

There has been some negative reaction to the committee's recommendation that, beginning with the next council's term in late 2010, the mayor and councillors' salaries rise 31 per cent and the deputy mayor's pay go up 17 per cent.

The committee has suggested a mayoral raise from the current $32,103 per year to $42,000.

The five councillors' pay would go from $17,294 to $22,600 and the deputy mayor's position would pay $25,000, up from the current $21,326.

At this Monday's council meeting, town resident Don Kidd addressed the issue during the question period. Rather than pose a question, Mr. Kidd issued a statement, calling the recommendations "insane" and strongly suggesting council not accept them.

In an interview Tuesday, committee chair Bob Long said the six-member committee has not altered the figures. "There is a fair amount of diversity and experience on the committee," said Mr. Long. "We agonized over it and feel we have come up with fair recommendations."

He added that the figures are actually an adjustment that spreads over six years, pointing out that the last salary adjustment occurred in 2005.

While the base pay raise of 31 per cent for the mayor has been criticized, it works out to an average per-annum raise of 4.5 per cent since 1994, when the mayoral base pay was $20,000 per year.

As mayor, Rob Adams assumes the role of the CEO of the Corporation of the Town of Orangeville under the Ontario Municipal Act. This requires he assume fiduciary responsibility for a corporation with a $20 million annual budget.

While there is no exact legal definition for fiduciary, it basically means, in everyday parlance, that the buck stops at the mayor's office whenever there's a problem.

An interesting feature of the committee is its size. A town advertisement for nine volunteers to sit on the committee drew only eight applicants, even though it was open to any of the town's 27,000 residents. The applications were passed on to council, who appointed all the candidates.

One of the the committee members was unable to make the meetings and subsequently resigned.

Other than the appointments, council has not involved itself with the committee.

"Council took the right steps in turning (remuneration) back to committee for its advice and recommendations," said Mayor Adams. "Adopting a third-party approach was an appropriate, open and transparent approach to dealing with a delicate issue."

Last October, council followed previous procedures and voted itself a raise in public session after an in camera session. The method was criticized for lacking transparency and the amount of the raise was considered excessive by many.

At the mayor's request, an initial ad hoc committee was put together in December.

"When you are required to set your own salary, it's always difficult," said Mayor Adams. "I'm sure that this committee group has looked at things critically and objectively."