City seeks public input on possible council salary increase at meeting

The City of Moose Jaw gave the floor to public input regarding proposed changes in council salaries, which will be considered when the official recommendation is presented to council later this year.

An independent panel is conducting the review of the Remuneration Bylaw that affects City of Moose Jaw elected officials, specifically the remuneration of city councillors and the mayor. 

The three-member panel was selected for the review in April of 2019, comprised of Greg McIntyre from the Moose Jaw Chamber of Commerce, Brenda Berry from the Moose Jaw & District Labour Council, and city clerk-solicitor Myron Gulka-Tiechko. 

The special meeting on Jan. 22 invited any public citizens to express their opinion about proposed changes to city officials’ salaries, which will be considered alongside responses to an online survey, input from current and former members of council, and the panel’s research.

Only one individual showed up for the public meeting, and the online survey had over 250 responses as of Jan. 22. The survey will continue to be available for citizens to fill out online until Jan. 28.

The review is a response to the federal government’s elimination of a tax exemption for elected officials, which previously allowed one-third of an official’s earnings to be considered exempt due to the extra costs officials take on without reimbursement. 

“Some of the things I don't think that we necessarily appreciate is that some of these counsellors have normal jobs and family and regular commitments,” said McIntyre, who also noted that council serves on additional committees, does preparation for every executive meeting, and makes public appearances at events.

The elimination of the tax exemption prompted a look at the current formula that determines salary and benefits for the mayor and council members, which hasn’t been reviewed since 2009.

Currently, the mayor’s salary is determined to be 47 per cent of the stated salary of the cabinet minister, and a council member’s salary is calculated as approximately one-third of the mayor’s. 

Using this formula, the current mayor’s salary is $79,108 at a full-time position and council members’ salaries are $24,918 at a part-time position.

There were some concerns that Moose Jaw officials are not receiving remuneration comparable to other Saskatchewan municipalities, and how that financial difference could be affecting the accessibility of the position for potential candidates.

“I think that the average citizen would agree that we'd want to have those [positions] compensated in such a way that a maximum number of people could participate in the electoral process,” said McIntyre.

The panel will offer a recommendation of what they feel would be a fair pay scale for elected officials in Moose Jaw, to ensure that the work-time commitment is fairly compensated.

“[The question is] how do we make it so that everybody can participate. . . so that we can make it as accessible to both genders, as broad of an age group and lifestyle category as possible,” continued McIntyre. 

Besides raising or lowering salaries, McIntyre mentioned another possibility could be including or adjusting compensation policies for elected officials.

The panel is expected to make their recommendation to council later this year, and any changes to the remuneration formula will be put in place for future council members following the municipal election on Nov. 9.