I have had several volunteer jobs in the last 20 years. They generally required two or three hours a week. I find it difficult to view being a mayor of a city of more than 100,000 people as a “volunteer” job. Even with a city manager to deal with the daily details, it seems to me that being mayor of a small city would be very demanding.
Vancouver’s mayor and city council have to guide the city in developing its future and come up with solutions to current problems. At the moment, developing affordable housing and shelter for the homeless is one of those current problems. This issue, alone, is very complex and would require a great deal of time and study. And, this is only one issue that needs to be addressed.
It seems to me that $60,000 a year is a reasonable amount to pay someone who has the responsibilities that the mayor of Vancouver has. Americans seem to be very willing to take advantage of people who are motivated to serve their communities. As a former teacher in the 1960s, I can tell you that Americans often expect a lot for very little pay.
If the pay raises seem high, it could be because the salaries have been too low for the mayor and city council members for a very long time.