St. Albert city council voted to give itself a raise on Monday, but there was no discussion about it in public.
Instead, council went in camera to discuss council remuneration, based on recommendations contained in a confidential administrative report dated March 5. Both the details of the report and the surrounding discussion are a mystery to the public. The only part that was public was the vote.
Council’s raise, based on the Edmonton Consumer Price Index, will be 2.2 per cent, starting in April. This is the result of a change in council policy passed last year and a recommendation from the Council Remuneration Review Committee, which is made up of residents. While most St. Albertans don’t get raises based on inflation, especially in the current economy, the fact that council got a raise isn’t even the most controversial part. What is most controversial is the lack of public dialogue on this issue.
In the past, changes to remuneration were discussed publicly. Just last year, council had a special meeting where it approved a change to the base pay of councillors and the elimination of per-diem payments. The public was fully informed on what was happening with council’s pay, what the recommendations were and what the councillors thought. But this week the public didn’t get that discussion at all.
Discussing council’s pay exclusively in private is disrespectful to taxpayers. Regardless of how routine or benign the conversation might be, the public has a right to know. These are taxpayers' dollars being spent, we deserve public debate. Choosing not to discuss a pay raise only raises the suspicions of the public. What is there to hide? Optics matter in good governance.
George Cuff, a municipal consultant who conducted St. Albert’s municipal inspection last year, said he thinks discussion regarding remuneration should always be open and transparent.
“Council remuneration, quite frankly, is a public issue,” he said. “Quite often, the discussion is relatively benign, but the fact that you go in-camera to have it is questionable.”
The desire for improved transparency was a big talking point during the election campaign, but a decision like this is a step in the opposite direction.
The only councillor to vote against the pay raise was Coun. Ray Watkins, who didn’t think he deserved a raise given the new council has only been on the job for a few months and said getting a raise in the current economic climate would send the wrong message to residents. That’s a fair assessment by Watkins and an opinion that would be shared by many residents, but it was not one that was discussed publicly in council chambers.
There really is no excuse for this type of behaviour and council should know better. Council pay raises always need to be discussed in public, it’s fundamental to democracy. Not doing so is disrespectful and hiding behind a policy is no way to govern. This council has so far shown us it knows how to spend. It’s time to show us it can control expenses. Taxpayers deserve better.
