MD OF BIGHORN – A review of the pay for elected officials in the MD of Bighorn will be considered as part of the 2022 capital budget.
The compensation review could see $50,000 spent to analyze the pay offered to municipal elected officials after the Municipal Excellence Committee (MEC) asked council to consider its recommendation following its Dec. 20 meeting.
While council pay has cost of living adjustments (COLA) made, Coun. Joss Elford highlighted how people in the Bow Valley face far more significant living expenses than elsewhere in the province.
“Cost of living is far different here than in Didsbury. I know we have to base it on what other councils are making, but if cost of living is double where we are compared to Didsbury, as an example, is that a fair way to do it?”
Bighorn Reeve Lisa Rosvold said the MEC had discussed different options if a review were to move forward.
“We did talk about similarly sized municipalities, but we did throw around neighbouring municipalities,” she said, meaning communities such as Banff or Canmore could also be examined since their cost of living would be more comparable.
According to the council and committee remuneration policy, as of Jan. 1, 2021, councillors earn $25,797 per year while the reeve is paid $32,769 as base pay. But the policy also stipulates that the salary is adjusted each Jan. 1, per the consumer price index as indicated by Statistics Canada.
MD of Bighorn CAO Robert Ellis said he had looked back as far as 2000 to find when the base salaries were approved and found 2012 was the first recorded mention. Since then, he said it has been adjusted for COLA except for one of two years.
Ellis added a review hasn’t been done since at least 2012, while deputy reeve Paul Clark noted in his eight years on council there had not been an in-depth comparison of council pay to other municipalities.
As part of the job, elected officials are expected to attend all meetings of council, the finance and economic development committee meetings, budget meetings, electoral meetings and BOWDA meetings.
For each approved board or committee meeting, a member of council receives a per diem of $175 limited to three times a month. They are also reimbursed for accommodation and food when attending courses, conventions or conferences and receive $0.515 per kilometre when using their vehicle on municipal business.
Elected officials are also eligible to receive parking expenses if on municipal business.
In research completed by staff, it was found other municipalities had directed a committee made of public members with experience in human resources and business to oversee and make any recommendations to council.
“It appears that an arms-length approach has been instituted to remove any political bias from the process,” a Dec. 15 staff report to the MEC stated.
Coun. Jen Smith, who was elected in the October municipal election, voted against the review, given the timing is too early with a mostly new council.
“The timing for last year seems like the right time since it was a year before the election looking at the salary review for the incoming councillors,” she said. “I don’t think it’s in our best interests to do a salary review when we’re brand new and just learning our roles. The timing with this is not sitting well with me at all. … Maybe in four years, but not right now.”
