Another day, another set of BC politicians jockeying for more money from you, the taxpayer. This time, it’s the Columbia Shuswap Regional District wanting more dough – and ordering an “independent” review to get it.

The CSRD is following the lead of the Capital Regional District, which doubled their pay earlier this year. As I wrote earlier this month, these raises are unnecessary:

When these politicians decided to run for office, there was no gun being held to their head. They willingly put their name forward in a local election. When they won, they chose to accept the appointment to the CRD. And they did so, knowing precisely what they were going to be paid -- and what sacrifices would have to be made personally.

Secondly, some CRD politicians also spoke about the need for pay to be "competitive." This is absolute nonsense -- there is no competitive market for regional districts. It's not like a Saanich councillor, dismayed at the wage paid a CRD director, can jump ship to the Metro Vancouver Regional District (although we'd like to see them try). No other regional district is out trying to recruit CRD directors to their boards.

Here's the truth about politician pay. Some are grossly overpaid for the work they do, while some are terribly underpaid. But that distinction is very much in the eye of the beholder. Given the long list of pressing concerns facing the CRD, it certainly seems like there is room for improvement.

The Salmon Arm Observer offers the play-by-play of the awkward debate at the CSRD board table. My favorite comment came from Golden Coun. Caleb Moss: “One of the things I find quite interesting is we spent eight minutes on policy review and we’ve already spent 15 on remuneration.”

Sounds like the politicians know what their top priority is. I wonder if taxpayers concur?