Mayor, councillors likely to get double-digit pay raise in 2021

Moose Jaw’s mayor will likely receive a 20-per-cent pay increase starting next January, while councillors will likely receive an increase of 28 per cent, based on recommendations from a panel that looked at council remuneration and expenses.

Council appointed a three-member panel in 2019 after the federal government removed the one-third tax exemption that had been applied to elected officials, thus reducing their take-home pay. To offset the reduction, council approved a motion last year to set the mayor’s salary at $79,108 and councillors’ salaries at $24,918. Those salaries increased to $82,303 and $25,924, respectively, on July 1, based on continued adjustments. To officially determine what pay the mayor and council should receive, city clerk/solicitor Myron Gulka-Tiechko, labour union member Brenda Berry, and RBC commercial banker Greg McIntyre were appointed to the three-member panel. After a year of reviewing what councils and mayors earn in other Saskatchewan cities, acquiring public feedback, and talking to past Moose Jaw councillors and mayors, the panel presented its recommendations at the executive committee meeting on June 29.

After discussing the report, council voted 5-2 to accept the recommendations. Councillors Brian Swanson and Crystal Froese were opposed.

Council must now approve the recommendations at the July 13 regular meeting for them to become official.

Panel recommendations

The report that the panel produced included a two-sided page with 16 recommendations that affect the pay, expenses and perks of the mayor and councillor positions. The estimated annual cost to increase the pay of the mayor and council is $65,000.

Paying the mayor

The panel recommended that the mayor’s position be based on that of a Saskatchewan MLA and be adjusted annually every July 1, as determined by the provincial Board of Internal Economy. This means the mayor will earn $100,068 starting on Jan. 1, 2021, which is an increase of $17,765 or about 21 per cent.

Paying the councillors

The panel also recommended that councillors receive remuneration equivalent to 33.33 per cent of the mayor and have their pay adjusted in the same manner and time. This means as of Jan. 1, 2021, a councillor will earn $33,323, an increase of $7,399 or about 28 per cent. Councillors should receive a per diem at the current rate of $161.30 per day for their travel/education allowance for attendance outside the municipality for conferences, conventions, seminars or similar functions or programs related to municipal business.

Meanwhile, when councillors hold the role of deputy mayor, they should receive remuneration of $420.92 per month. This is the current rate they receive now.

Supporting the mayor

The mayor’s position should have office space, equipment and support staff comparable to the city’s management, the report said. The panel initially suggested the mayor have a travel budget of $13,099 and an in-city car allowance of $150 per month. However, after discussing the issue, council approved changes that would decrease the travel budget to $10,000 and increase the car allowance to $500 per month.

This means the mayor would receive an additional $6,000 per year for a car allowance, compared to $1,500 per year under the panel’s recommendation. This would bump the mayor’s pay to $106,068 per year. The report did not say how much extra in pension the mayor would receive. The mayor would also be entitled to out-of-city mileage beyond 250 kilometres in the same manner as a municipal employee, while the mayor would be eligible for all benefit programs on the same terms and conditions as municipal out-of-scope staff.

Supporting the councillors

Councillors should receive an annual travel/education allowance budget for out-of-city conferences, conventions, seminars and similar functions of $4,756 per year, the report said. This would be adjusted in the same manner as an MLA salary and would also permit reimbursement

for admission costs to events held within the city, such as awards dinners.

Expenses from this budget should be paid through the same processes and at the same rates as travel reimbursement policies applied to municipal staff.

Perks for council

The panel recommended that councillors should receive an iPad/tablet and municipal email account for city business, that they receive no other additional support services, and that they don’t receive any benefit coverages other than accidental death and dismemberment that is currently covered.

The councillor per diem, deputy mayor pay and travel/ education allowance should increase annually by the same percentage — 33.33 per cent — as applied to the mayor’s remuneration in relation to the MLA indemnity, the report said.

If a council member is elected or appointed to a board or committee on a provincial or national organization, that person should be reimbursed for travel and per diem from the travel/education allowance, unless the organization pays for these expenses. Council may, by resolution, authorize extra travel or per diem expenses for any outof-city travel to conduct municipal business where council deems it advisable to have the mayor or councillor(s) attend.

All amounts paid out under this policy should be discreetly and individually budgeted and reported publicly by posting the expenses to the municipality’s website every quarter, as well as disclosed through public accounts disclosure, the report suggested.

Council should review this policy one year before the 2024 municipal election and make recommendations about remuneration that would commence Jan. 1, 2025. Furthermore, council should review and bring forward potential leaves of absence policies to permit parental leaves of absence for younger members who might be elected and require short-term accommodation to permit continuing community service.