SUNDRE — With one member of council opposed and another absent, a motion was passed to freeze municipal staff’s salaries with no cost of living adjustment for 2021.
Before deciding during the Dec. 7 meeting conducted by teleconference, council heard a report from Chris Albert, director of corporate services.
When preparing the recommendation, which comes up annually, he said administration bases the cost of living adjustment on the consumer price index (CPI), which from October 2019 to October 2020 was 1.1 per cent, said Albert.
The CPI, he explained, is a federal government benchmark formulated based on figures from Statistics Canada.
“They do research on the actual costs, year over year, of food, fuel, shelter, utilities, clothing — everything that goes into your personal living expenses.”
Administration therefore recommended a 1.1 per cent increase for municipal staff, he said, adding that maintaining employee compensation in line with the cost of inflation is not tantamount to a raise but rather a freeze, while anything less than matching inflation technically amounts to a reduction in salary.
“The purpose of this is not necessarily an increase to salaries, this is just keeping the equation whole,” he said.
“Not adopting something that is within the CPI does create a potential situation for catch up later,” he added.
Also noteworthy, he pointed out, was Mountain View County council’s recent split 5-2 decision to approve a one per cent cost of living adjustment.
Coun. Todd Dalke moved to approve the 1.1 per cent cost of living adjustment.
But none of his colleagues who were present spoke in favour of the motion, instead each outlining reasons why they disagreed.
Coun. Richard Warnock said salary decisions are tough, and added that many people have throughout the course of the pandemic been getting laid off or are otherwise struggling.
“It is just prudent for council, at this time, to not offer a cost of living increase. And yes, we may have to play catch up (later), but let’s do that in better times. I just believe that now is not the time,” said Warnock.
Coun. Charlene Preston agreed.
“I also think that we need to be extremely proud as a town, as an employer, that we did not let any staff go throughout the whole pandemic.”
Councillors Paul Isaac and Rob Wolfe agreed, with the latter stating council needs to show residents “that we have their back in these unprecedented times, and that we’re not just going to be increasing their expenses.”
Mayor Terry Leslie also spoke against the motion, but not so much for the reasons stated.
“We currently have a review of all staff wages, all council remuneration, taking place,” said Leslie.
“And in the new year, I would expect that council will get a recommendation as to where everybody is in comparison with other municipalities our size.”
The mayor submitted that it would therefore be prudent for the time being to hold the line at zero until the review’s results are known.
Dalke countered that municipal staff have endured difficult as well as potentially dangerous conditions, and have been working longer and harder due to the pandemic.
Regardless of whether an employer is a municipality or a business, he said ensuring that those who keep the organization functioning smoothly are kept at a certain level, is important.
“That cost of living increase is going to be marginal across the board,” he said, speculating the increase will “most likely be absorbed by those wages that are currently budgeted for, that we haven’t hired for.”
The councillor wanted to know how much the cost of living adjustment would add up to.
“The overall effect on the actual costs would be approximately $35,000, give or take,” said Albert, adding there have in previous years been a roughly $200,000 surplus throughout all of the departments as a result of budgeted but unfilled positions.
Warnock sought to clarify that his position against approving the cost of living adjustment was not a reflection of his thoughts on the work staff are doing, and recognized staff were in essence being asked to absorb the increase rather than residents.
“I’m not diminishing what they do for us, we know they do a fantastic job,” he said.
“This is just the right thing to do at this time, and we will make it right for 2022.”
The mayor called a vote on Dalke’s motion, which was defeated.
Wolfe then moved that council hold the line at a zero per cent cost of living increase for 2021, which carried with Dalke opposed. Coun. Cheri Funke was unable to attend to meeting.
“My decision is solely based on economics, and not performances,” said Wolfe, expressing appreciation for staff’s effort during a difficult time.
