COUNCIL PAY NEEDS A FIX

Nobody likes to have their pay trimmed, but with an election coming this fall, Calgary city council members are no doubt taking it in stride. Their compensation has attracted attention in recent years as Calgarians of more modest means have had to tighten their belts.

Council’s remuneration is based on changes in the Alberta average weekly earnings reports compiled by Statistics Canada, and this year, it’s decreased 2.49 per cent. The change has triggered a modest reduction in the amount of money our civic politicians receive.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who is paid $218,285 a year, will experience a $5,435 pay cut on Jan. 1. His council colleagues will lose about $2,900 of their $116,312 salaries.

“The current formula means that I get paid exactly what the average person in Alberta gets … So, if the average person in Alberta’s salary goes up, mine goes up. If it goes down, mine goes down,” the mayor said in a recent year-end interview.

Given Nenshi’s folksy manner, you’d think he was a restaurant waiter philosophically reflecting on variations in his tips, rather than a wellpaid politician. The mayor has seen his wage grow by almost 23 per cent since 2010.

Other council members’ salaries have risen nearly 20 per cent in the same period.

Using changes in Statistics Canada’s average weekly earnings reports has never been a sound way of setting politicians’ pay. A five per cent wage increase is a lot less for someone working part time for $5,000 a year, or even full time for $30,000. Granted, a 2.49 per cent cut will also have a larger impact on people receiving a bigger wage, but they’re in a better position to absorb it, particularly if they’re city councillors who enjoy a $9,400-a-year car allowance, medical and dental benefits, business travel insurance and other perks. The mayor is provided with a city-owned vehicle.

The Statistics Canada figure also can’t be relied upon as an accurate reflection of what’s happening in the workplace. If there’s layoffs, for instance, and junior employees are dropped from companies’ payrolls, the figure can be distorted by better paid workers remaining on the job. Similarly, if workers are putting in a lot of overtime, it can push up the weekly average earnings even though their regular wages have remained the same.

A five-member citizen committee is looking at if a new salary formula should be put in place after this fall’s elections. It certainly should — one that doesn’t rely on the Statistics Canada numbers and one that allows for a wage freeze rather than constant adjustments. It’s time to put an end to council’s salary adjustment lottery.