Civic politicians voted to give themselves a raise Monday night.

The increase will bring the mayor's salary to $110,653, up from $103,932, for a six per cent hike. The salary for the six councilors will jump by eight per cent to $47,564 from $44,048. The taxable vehicle allowance has also been raised by $200.

All raises are effective Jan. 1, 2012.

The last council raise came in 2010.

"We have provided provision for this amount in the five-year financial plan," said Karl Preuss, Delta's director of finance.

Historically, the salaries for Delta's civic politicians have been based on the average in four Lower Mainland municipalities with similar populations - Coquitlam, Richmond, Township of Langley and District of North Vancouver.

The current remuneration rate had fallen below that average, so the raise was proposed and debated at a recent in-camera meeting before being brought forward for formal approval at Monday night's meeting.

A report from staff noted Delta is the largest municipality in the province that continues to employ a mayor and six councillors.

"It is normal practice for municipalities with a population of over 50,000 to employ eight councillors," said the report from Sean McGill, Delta's director of human resources and corporate planning. "Employing the lesser number of council members in Delta translates into additional workload per individual as work items such as council committees need to be distributed amongst fewer members."

The report states the municipality has about 300 official meetings and other events every year.

jkerr@delta-optimist.com