Hands up if you want a pay raise?
Two years ago I asked that question in an editorial after County of Barrhead councillors gave themselves a cost of living adjustment.
Once again I find myself asking the same question. As you will read on Page 5A, County of Barrhead councillors have instructed administration to come up with parameters for a committee to recommend what types of changes, if any, are needed to the way the county compensates councillors.
Reading between the lines, the reason why councillors are asking for this is that they believe the committee will recommend that the county should increase councillor compensation.
And my response is the same as it was two years ago: “How many people actually received a raise in the last two or three years?”
I imagine not very many. There are not very many people in Alberta who don’t know of a friend, neighbour, or family member that has been adversely impacted by the economic downturn.
Which is why I haven’t been very sympathetic when town and county councillors have voiced their displeasure about the federal government eliminating the one-third tax exemption for provincial and municipal elected officials.
In my mind, it was long overdue, and even without the exemption, our municipal elected officials are being fairly compensated.
We have to remember that in a community such as Barrhead, being a councillor is a part-time job. Expecting full-time compensation is unrealistic.
That being said, I agree that the county needs to take a serious look in not only how much councillors are paid, but the way they are paid.
Councillors receive a base salary as well as a per diem for the various meetings they attend. While I believe a case can be made to increase their base salary, the committee when it’s formed needs to seriously overhaul and reduce the per diem rates.
The full day per diem (for any meeting over four hours) is $242.43. For meetings four hours or less, they receive $121.22. Doing some quick math, that means if a councillor goes to the standard six-hour council meeting using the $242.43 full-day rate, they would be making roughly $40 an hour.
But what happens if a meeting clocks in at four and a half hours? Councillors are then entitled to claim the full-day rate, making their hourly rate over $50 an hour.
Then there are the committee meetings, such as Misty Ridge Ski Hill Society or the Barrhead Agricultural Society, which often finish in at well under four hours. And yet councillors, if I understand it correctly, are still entitled the half day rate. If a meeting were to last an hour and a half, that jumps the hourly rate to over $80.
I don’t know about you, but this seems too extreme. I believe that those chosen to sit on the compensation study committee will feel the same way.
