BANFF – Public members of Banff’s Development Appeal Board and Municipal Planning Commission will now be paid for their volunteer work.
On Monday (July 16), council gave the green light for members of DAB and MPC, except for council and Parks Canada representatives, to be paid for their work, which has become increasingly time consuming and controversial.
Councillor Corrie DiManno voiced strong support for the move, saying an honorarium speaks to the important and valuable work volunteer board members are doing for the community.
She said land use and planning matters can also be controversial work at times – and that’s a lot to ask of volunteers.
“That’s work that a newspaper might quote you in; that’s work that you might read someone’s opinion of you in a letter to the editor; that’s work that people might stop you on the street to talk about and that’s work that could potentially change your relationships in town, your friendships, your work colleagues’ opinions of you,” she said.
“As councillors, it’s my opinion that we get paid around the clock for this; however, these volunteers currently do not and so I think an honorarium will reflect that.”
Members of DAB, which is a quasi-judicial board, will get $250 plus mileage for a required training day, $150 for up to a four-hour meeting and $250 for meetings that go beyond that. The chair will get $200 and $325 respectively.
Residents sitting on MPC, which acts in an advisory capacity to council, but also has decision-making powers, will receive a $105 honorarium for up to four hours and $210 for more than that.
The annual cost to the municipality is expected to be between $10,000 and $15,000.
Councillor Ted Christensen was unsuccessful in his attempt to have members on DAB and MPC paid the same amount.
“Having had an opportunity to serve on MPC and DAB, I don’t make the distinction between the qualifications and commitment to either committee,” he said.
“I propose an amendment that the MPC compensation be equivalent to DAB compensation.”
