Officials rule Samraj can remain as library employee while on council
Issue raises question of how to attract younger candidates to run in municipal elections
Kris Samraj scored a notable vote total in his first foray into city politics, and it won’t even cost him his day job.
He placed second among vote getters in the Oct. 16 municipal election — winning the 37-year-old librarian a seat on city council in his first run for office, and surprising many political observers.
Officials have ruled that local library workers aren’t covered by provincial regulations that bar civic employees sitting on municipal councils that employ them.
The issue however has raised the question of how to attract a great number of younger candidates, who hold nine-to-five jobs into running for city government.
“I’m realizing that just in the election process is that there are time constraints, and you need time to do this job properly,” said Samraj, who is the head of nonfiction services for the Medicine Hat Public Library. “One issue is, perhaps, councillors don’t have enough time. Right now it’s considered a part-time position, but I’m not sure how realistic that is.”
In the recent past, a large number of council positions have been held by retirees, the self-employed who control their own schedules, or educators who have time at the end of the business day to take part in committee meetings or other city business.
That’s something other regular wageearners can’t typically do, and putting a private career on hiatus would have severe financial consequences.
Local council positions are considered part-time with a base pay and vacation payout of about $23,000. With various health and other benefits, plus a matching RRSP contributions, total compensation can reach about $40,000 per year.
The average full-time wage in Alberta is $60,700 gross per year in gross, according to Statistics Canada.
For a younger, working person, taking on full-time council role could mean taking a 50 per cent pay cut.
Mayor Ted Clugston said that the issue might be discussed at strategic planning meeting, but he didn’t expect immediate action on compensation changes.
“We are doing a lot more than Lethbridge or Red Deer ,” said Clugston of the cities where councillors are also part time, but paid more. “With our utility department there’s a lot more going on.”
He said that several ways to phase in full-time council positions were discussed about 10 years ago.
In 2013, then-Mayor Norm Boucher suggest creating a deputy mayor position that would be full-time, though the suggestion similarly didn’t go any further.
Clugston worked as an insurance advisor in private life during two terms as alderman in 2007 when he was in his late-30s.
After winning the full-time position of mayor in 2013 said he would no longer seek out new clients, but simply service his current list.
On the library issue, Samraj said he doesn’t consider there to be a conflict.
Library items are rarely heard at council, but he plans to recuse himself when they do arise.
“I’m on a leave of absence right now for the election,” said Samraj. “Obviously, I understand the perception.”
However, his position as head of nonfiction services at the Medicine Hat Public Library had created some discussion about his eligibility to hold the seat and continue working.
The Alberta Local Elections Act states that civic employees must take leaves of absence if they campaign for a position, and if elected, must resign their regular work positions.
However, Alberta Municipal Affairs tells the News that library employee are dealt with on a case by case since different cities operate libraries differently — either as combined operation or standalone entities. Therefore decisions are left up to the local municipality
City Clerk Angela Cruickshank told the News that the City considers the library an arms-length organization, and so the statute doesn’t apply.
The library exists as a separate legal entity from the City and is governed under the Alberta Library Act.
It receives funding from the city, but sets its own budget and is governed by a distinct board. Library workers are members of the same union as most other city workers, but negotiate with the library board, not the city, in a separate unit.