Olds town council passed a recommendation from the Citizens Committee on Council Compensation that would see the mayor's honorarium increase by 27 per cent to $2,650 per month. Councillors' honorariums will increase by 28 per cent to $1,450 per month effective Nov. 1.
The mayor is currently paid an honorarium of $2,080 per month, while councillors are paid $1,040 per month.
The recommendation to increase the honorariums was made at the May 27 council meeting.
The honorariums also include $20 per month for each councillor and the mayor to cover the cost of using personal cellphones for council business.
The honorariums are also adjusted to reflect inflation, as measured through the consumer price index.
Per diems for the mayor and councillors were also set at $50 for one to two hours' work for council business, up to a flat rate of $325 per day for council business that lasts eight hours or longer. The per diem compensates councillors for the time away from home or business activities, and includes the amount of time to travel to and from functions.
The mayor and councillors will also be paid 52 cents per kilometre for travelling to and from functions.
In carrying out the review, the committee looked at similar compensation paid to councillors from 14 other municipalities around Alberta with populations from 6,470 to 12,317. Other communities that were reviewed for the report included Bonnyville, Ponoka, Slave Lake, Strathmore and Canmore, among others.
Mary Anne Overwater, one of the three members of the compensation committee, told council the review recommended an increase because the survey found Olds councillors are paid below many of their counterparts. The mayor with the highest compensation is paid about $6,300 per month, with the lowest honorarium for a mayor at about $1,500 per month.
In addition to surveying what other municipalities pay their town councillors, the committee members also interviewed Olds' councillors about the issue.
“When we went through the different conversations (with councillors) there wasn't a lot of prep time being accounted for. We acknowledge the fact that this (increase) is aggressive,” Dave Harris told council, adding the committee wanted to recognize the time commitment councillors bring to the job.
Many current councillors such as Harvey Walsh and Wade Bearchell said they don't accept the full per diem amounts they are entitled to, adding they feel guilty for accepting those.
In an interview following the presentation, Overwater said the committee felt it was important for councillors to catch up to many of their peers elsewhere in Alberta.
“Olds has been very low for many years and we felt it was time that we brought them up to at least average,” she said.
Overwater said the interviews the committee members did with each of the councillors greatly informed their recommendations.
“People have no idea how busy the mayor and the councillors are and how much time it takes to be a councillor and a mayor,” she said.
Mayor Judy Dahl said she believes the remuneration for councillors is fair, given that per diems are paid based on the amount of work councillors do.
“It's the way it has to be, because I've gone through a lot of elected officials in my nine years (as mayor) and there comes a time when some of them are not available at all, and other councillors have to cover that load. We have a lot of reading to do in order to make a sound decision on behalf of the people of Olds,” she said, noting that she spends about 60 to 70 hours per month on council business.
