The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on St. John’s City Hall to rein in senior salaries instead of hiking taxes.

Federation Atlantic Director Devin Drover says before the capital city comes looking for more money from local families, that it take “a hard look at the six-figure salaries already on the payroll.”

He says Mayor Danny Breen has been publicly musing about creating new taxes and fees, something he calls “a major red flag for taxpayers, because residents of St. John’s have already seen significant tax increases over the last five years.” He says the residential mil rate is up more than 18 per cent and water tax is up about 13 per cent over the same period.

He says the average management-level salary at city hall is $127,000, and the city’s new manager is being paid $260,000 a year.

That, says Drover, is higher than most senior bureaucrats in the provincial government.

He says St. John’s has a city manager, who is representing less than a quarter of the province’s overall population being paid more than many senior provincial bureaucrats.

Drover says city taxpayers should not be forced to fund “huge salaries” that outpace those in comparable cities or the provincial government.