SUNDRE — Municipal staff will receive a 1.6 per cent cost of living adjustment (COLA) in 2020.
Although one member of council argued during the Monday, Dec. 2 meeting against approving the increase, which matched Alberta's inflation rate, most of her colleagues were not persuaded.
“I struggle with this one,” said Coun. Cheri Funke, who spoke against the motion to approve the increase that was brought forward by Coun. Richard Warnock.
“I’m speaking against it not because our staff don’t deserve it, because they do. I’m speaking against it because we all need to take steps to do our part to ease the burden, and I believe that this is one small step in the direction to ease the burden.”
Coun. Paul Isaac directed a question to his colleague, wondering whether Funke had an alternate proposal in mind.
“Do you have an option?” inquired Isaac.
If the motion to approve the increase did not pass, Funke said she would propose a motion to freeze the 2020 cost of living adjustment at zero.
Speaking in favour of his motion, Warnock said staff should not be asked to take a decrease in pay to operate the municipality or its facilities.
“We’re asking staff to stay status quo. This is not a raise in pay. This is just a cost of living allowance of 1.6 per cent,” he said, explaining his justification for making the motion.
“There are pros and cons. I realize we have budget constraints. But I do believe that this is just to have the staff stay at the same level.”
As a point of clarification, Funke said she was not suggesting that staff should be taking a pay cut.
“No COLA increase is not a decrease in pay, by any means,” she said.
Mayor Terry Leslie, who spoke in favour of the motion, argued that not approving a cost of living adjustment for staff is tantamount to a decrease in pay.
“We ask our staff to find efficiencies to hold the line to do everything they can with all of the budget lines under their control to constantly look for those efficiencies, and they always come through,” said Leslie.
“I think we should not look at (cutting) costs that are on the back of the staff,” he said, adding the current and former councils have consistently held the line on annual cost of living increases for years.
“I would see the lack of a COLA increase as a decrease,” he said, explaining that in the face of ever-rising costs, a frozen salary amounts to a reduction in available income.
During his presentation to council outlining administration’s recommendation, Chris Albert, director of corporate services, said the adjustment would be applicable to all salary grid levels for 2020.
“It’s across the board,” said Albert, adding the figure of 1.6 per cent presented in administration’s report to council was based on Statistics Canada’s consumer price index for the province only.
“So it’s very specific to Alberta.”
Reviewing a chart comparing Alberta’s consumer price index with the Town of Sundre’s approved cost of living adjustments dating back over the past five years — in 2017 there was a zero per cent increase — Coun. Charlene Preston asked if the municipality was a bit above average.
“I think we were average, not quite above,” said Albert.
Coun. Paul Isaac said a wage increase is more of a debate than a cost of living allowance.
“All of your expenses go up every year,” said Isaac.
Speaking from a business perspective, he said in order for an entrepreneur to make their budget, they would have to increase some of their expenses for their customers.
“To me, a COLA is fine,” he said.
The challenge, he added, is to ensure a cost of living adjustment is “in line with the province, the country, (and) the industry.”
To that point, the mayor said council requests administration to compare compensations with other municipalities “to see if we are in the ballpark…because if we are too low or too high, we’re going to have attraction and retention issues with our staff.”
The municipality has endeavoured in recent years to focus on hiring internally as much as possible, “because it costs us so much to retrain staff. So a COLA increase is not a raise, it’s simply the recognition that when costs of living go up, you’re putting the same number of dollars in the pockets of the staff.”
Following further discussion, the mayor eventually called for a vote, and Warnock’s motion carried with Funke as well as Preston opposed.
