The final report and recommendations for City Council members remuneration was received and approved by council. I was in support of the findings and the work that the committee did. The recommendation was to keep the pay levels status quo, which is the right thing to do. I was, however, not supportive of the parameters that the committee was asked to stay within. We put together an intelligent committee that was capable of doing much more than just a cursory review. Unfortunately, they weren't given enough latitude to think and make recommendations "outside the box".
The comparison of salaries really only included Red Deer, Medicine Hat, St. Albert and Lethbridge because they were comparable sized cities. Information on Counties was looked at, but dismissed as not comparable. It is interesting to note that County council members make at least 50% more than City council members because of a "per diem" based system.
The summary for Grande Prairie was as follows:
- The Mayors in all 5 comparable cities were full-time and our Mayor was on the low end of the scale, but within reason.
- Alderman in all 5 cities earn a similar salary in the part-time role.
- The per diem amounts should stay the same at $100 per half day and $200 per full day.
The recommendation was to keep everything the same for the next council and allow for CPI adjustment (Consumer Price Index) to account for inflation.
I personally feel that the amount is sufficient for our current situation, but the way we calculate it needs to change in order to be fair for future councils. It took years to adjust council salaries to a decent level so the position would attract the best candidates from all sectors. I think the system still makes it prohibitive for some people to participate in municipal government at the level the citizens of the city deserve. Council is a busy job and every member is faced with the decision to participate in meetings and events or spend time at their other jobs. The possibility of missing out on valuable information that can sway a decision has been a reality. I have made the choice to make council my priority and have allowed my business to suffer a little because of it. Not everyone is able to make that choice.
A formula needs to be developed to encourage and compensate members of council for fulfilling their duties. In the private sector, if you don't show up for work, you don't get paid - if you put in extra time, you get paid more. Other municipalities have remuneration systems that are based on this principle. Working strictly on a per diem system is not effective either, but a blended system would offer the best of both worlds. City of GP council has a per diem policy in place, but it is very infrequently used. It is not used for meetings within the city boundaries and typically not even claimed if the meeting is held outside the city, but within the County of GP borders. The per diems kick in only when travel outside of the region is required.
My suggestion was that a blended system would include:
- adding a per meeting/event honorarium of a nominal amount like $25 which is not applied to any regular council or committee meetings.
- take the existing salary, average the workload based on the honorariums and reduce the base annual salary for council members so that the resulting totals stay the same for the first year.
- meetings over 4 hours be allowed a half day per diem regardless of their location, but must be approved beforehand.
I haven't worked out a new system in its entirety, but the basic concepts are captured. I believe we need to encourage and reward additional work/participation by Aldermen. We need a system that has a built-in ability for Council to grow into full-time positions with the proper checks and balances as well as transparency to the public.
The position is extremely rewarding on its own, but also takes more time than most people can appreciate. The meetings are only part of what Council must participate in. We must factor in the time spent corresponding with the public, dealing with issues or just passing along information. The meetings provide council members with information on specific issues, but time is also required to talk to public and bring back their views to the council table. I have made a point to work hard for the people I represent. I hope they see that. I work hard because of the strong work ethic that was passed down to me and because governing this city has become a passion for me. I don't do it for the money or the votes, but I need to hope that these will be taken into account and fairly distributed by some other means.
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