Water rates within Humboldt are not the only costs rising as the salaries of city council will be going up as well.

Council made the decision on Monday at City Council meeting with 5 out of 6 members voting in favour of the raise. One member was absent from the meeting.

Humboldt's Mayor will now receive $41,353 per year, while councilors will take home $10,546.64 per year. This will raise the budget by $10,677, including a 2% increase of the Council indemnity in 2019 for the consumer price index.

The increase was determined by taking the 1/3 non-taxable amount of the salaries and multiplying that by 26%. That is the lowest combined federal and provincial income tax deduction percentage.

Mayor Rob Muench on the reason and his feelings behind the increase.

"The 1/3 tax exemption for elected municipal officials was introduced in 1947 under the federal Income Tax Act, the purpose of a one-third tax-free expense allowance was to provide 'an allowance for expenses incidental to the discharge of the person’s duties as an elected officer.' The vote on Monday was to adjust the salaries to account for the loss of the 1/3 tax exemption that used to exist on our salaries. The take home pay remains the same, except for some of us where we will actually be taking home less than we were before because the increase was based on the lowest 26% tax bracket. I voted against the increase because my salary was at the higher end of similar sized cities and the $3,300 decrease in take home pay wouldn’t be too detrimental as I have a regular full time job outside of my Mayor’s role. I stand behind the counselors who voted for this as they were lower on the pay scale compared with similar sized communities, especially with the increased workload in the past months. Mayor and Council’s previous salaries were determined by an independent committee before the last election and are adjusted yearly to keep up with inflation."