A city councillor said an upcoming review of council and staff salaries should be seen as an investment in saving money for the city's future.
Council on Monday kick-started a compensation review of council, union and non-union staff salaries by approving up to $100,000 for a third-party consultant.
"This is something that has been needed for a long while," said Coun. Gareth Jones about the dollars set aside for the third-party compensation review.
"I don't believe we've been comfortable with the present system."
City policies outline how and when salaries are reviewed for city staff and council. Biennial surveys compare council salaries with earnings at other municipalities, setting compensation for the mayor and council at the 60th percentile. Similar surveys are conducted for non-union staff, in addition to cost of living increases. Union wages are determined through collective bargaining.
Council asked for the third-party review in April after the last non-union salary survey resulted in an average 3.9 per cent raise. At the time, Mayor Nolan Crouse said he wasn't convinced an increase was a good idea in the face of an economic recession that began in 2008. The review ensures taxpayers are getting the best value for the city's largest expense, he said.
Review committee
The consultant will work with a review committee to determine the most appropriate salary review structure. That group includes Mayor Nolan Crouse, Coun. Roger Lemieux and a community member at large still to be named.
Holtby said city staff would be available to the committee for advice and resources, although member of administration would sit on the committee itself.
"There's been accusations that this administration sets its own salaries and those are incorrect, we recommend to council," Holtby said after the meeting. "[Council] wanted to make it seem, and it is, totally impartial and separate from administration."
Holtby added the city's salary policy was last examined around a decade ago.
The last wholesale review of council remuneration happened about six years ago, when a five-person citizen committee was tasked with reviewing salaries and expenses. Most of the group's recommendations were approved, though not all before it was disbanded in 2005.
Community member
Coun. Roger Lemieux asked council to consider adding a community member-at-large to the committee to allow for citizen input on the issue. By allowing a resident to be part of the review, it was allowing the city to be more transparent in its operations, he said.
"I think, fundamentally, it is very important that we have this on our committee."
Coun. James Burrows supported the idea, but suggested the citizen have experience in human resource such as salaries and compensation. He added that, because of the scope of the task, having someone with that experience would improve the committee's operations.
Burrows also suggested the person selected be someone who is retired or has a large amount of free time on their hands.
"This has got to be a large time commitment," he said about the request, with Holtby adding it would be comparable to the size of the Servus Credit Union Place citizens' task force.
Jones said there are many qualified people, such as human resources professionals and company vice-presidents and presidents in St. Albert who have dealt with the very issues the city is facing.
"Don't underestimate the talent in this city," he added.
Holtby later said the community member would possibly be advertised in various circles, with the requirements for the position spelled out and the committee would select someone for council to approve.
The city will solicit proposals for the consultant contract, which could be awarded sometime in August.
