B7

MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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ST. STEPHEN - St. Stephen town council voted unanimously to freeze their own wages and the wages for all union and non-union staff.

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Matthew Sherwood/Telegraph-Journal

Mayor Jed Purcell said there is no date set for the end of the wage freeze but added that it would be monitored quarterly.

"It just seems to be the right thing to do," Mayor Jed Purcell said. "The province provided the leadership and I thought we should do it, and that's the mood of council."

On Oct. 26, council passed a motion freezing wages of unionized and non-unionized employees and a second motion freezing the cost-of-living wage increases given to councillors and the mayor each year.

Staff will see their wages freeze effective Jan. 1 and council on Dec. 1.

Council did not set a date for the wage freeze to end but instead said it would be monitored quarterly.

Earlier this year the province imposed a two-year wage freeze on its employees and made a veiled threat to municipalities that their grants may be cut if they don't comply.

"We are following the lead of the province," Purcell said. "I thought we better do it, it makes sense."

Purcell said there is a lot of unemployment in the area and with the current economic climate he does not think it would be right to increase employee's wages.

Purcell said the employees "didn't jump for joy" when they heard the news but he has not heard anyone disagreeing with council's decision.

He said council will save money by not increasing wages, and there are a lot of places for that money to go.

Purcell said the town is continuing to do the things it has to do, such as building the civic centre and replacing water and sewer lines that in some places are up to 100 years old.

He said the town has been working on water and sewer lines this fall on Milltown Boulevard as a continuation of the work that was done on King Street. He said that infrastructure program will continue.

He said the town is also hoping to tear down buildings before the end of December and prepare the downtown land designated for the Charlotte County Civic Centre for construction.

"We are just doing things we have to do and not any new things," Purcell said.

He said budget discussions will begin later this month and he expects it to be a tight financial year.

"I think we have to keep a close watch on things but I think we are in better shape in Canada than they are in lots of places, we rallied better than most," Purcell said. "I think there are people everywhere thinking about whether to buy a certain thing."