A short agenda brought council into the first public meeting of 2017.
Darlene Soucy gave an overview of the provincial legislation that came into the works in 2014 for those wishing to run for mayor or council in 2017. Candidates must file their intent to run before accepting any donations, and they must meet the eligibility requirements, such as they must be living with the municipality and they must understand and fill out paperwork properly.
Candidates can self finance their campaigns up to $10,000. Residents can go to www.rmwb.ca/elections for more information. In early March, there will be a list available to the public of those who filed their intent to run.
Mayor Blake repeated several times that the next item, council compensation is for the next council elected, not the current one. The recommendations came after an independent company looked into the issue that had been overlooked for quite a long time.
Local council members are some of the lowest paid in the country. Gallagher McDowall Associates made the presentation. They interviewed current council members, looked at travel expenses, and data was looked at from Stats Canada. They stated that remuneration should be based on workload, accessibility, and fair compensation.
They received input on a survey from 13 different municipalities, such as Spruce Grove, Red Deer and Medicine Hat. The average car allowance for mayors in other municipalities was $4950, but Mayor Blakes is $24,012. Councillors salaries were about $10,000 less here than in other regions.
The recommendations were that the mayor’s salary would be reduced from $132,000 to $120,000, while councillors would see an increase from $38,000 to $50,000. The associates also recommended that spousal travel be completely cut as no other municipality had such a thing.
Councillor McGrath made the immediate amendment that councillors take a reduction in pay instead of a pay increase. This motion was defeated.
Then Councillor Ault made a motion that the the Councillor salary remain the same. Councillor McGrath made a friendly amendment that it be reduced by 10% instead of the earlier 30%. Councillor Ault rejected the friendly motion.
Mayor Blake said that a higher compensation for councillors might bring a stronger field of candidates for the hard work that is needed over the next few years. Councillor salaries will remain the same, as will the mayor’s. However, perks like car allowances and spousal travel will be cut.
Several people were appointed to various committees, including Joanne Fisher to Communities in Bloom and Scott Garner to Wood Buffalo housing.
