Mixed opinions on Jasper council ditching pay-per-meeting model

Crews work to secure damaged buildings in Jasper, Alta. on July 31, 2024. (Source: Parks Canada)

Public feedback is divided on proposed changes to Jasper council’s pay, which includes increasing the base salary and eliminating per diems.

Council discussed the potential changes at its Tuesday (Oct. 22) meeting, but made no final decisions.

“The high level, I would say, is that there was a difference of opinion, and that difference of opinion is relatively fully split between those who supported the proposed changes and those who did not,” said CAO Bill Given. “So, it doesn’t provide council a clear consensus opinion on behalf of the community.”

He added only 123 respondents provided feedback, likely because most residents were focused on wildfire recovery.

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Under the pay-per-meeting model, council members currently earn a base salary and can claim per-diem payments for attending meetings, such as for regional boards and committees, and events as part of their official duties.

Administration has proposed eliminating per diems and increasing the base salary to simplify the payment structure, lessen the administrative burden and increase transparency with the public and potential council candidates.

No pay changes would take effect until after next year’s municipal election.

Public feedback was mixed on eliminating per diems. Those who supported this noted a fixed salary offers stability, reflects the workload and may attract more qualified candidates by providing a more predictable income.

Those who wanted to keep the pay-per-meeting model said it more fairly reflects the work performed and that a fixed salary could potentially overcompensate officials if the role’s workload fluctuates or if some councillors are less active than others.

Coun. Rico Damota said while eliminating per diems would alleviate the administrative load, maintaining the status quo helps keep council members more accountable for attending meetings.

“From what I’m hearing of other jurisdictions [that have] a fixed salary, sometimes there’s challenges getting people to their external meetings, particularly when they have to travel,” Damota said.

Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey emphasized the importance of fair pay and advocated for keeping the per diems, noting it was a learning experience in how important it was to attend those meetings.

She later added the pay-per-meeting system ensured transparency because councillors had to record what meetings they were attending.

“To me, it keeps me accountable,” Kelleher-Empey said.

Coun. Scott Wilson voiced support for getting rid of per diems because a red flag would be raised if a council member was not meeting their requirements.

“I don’t think there’s going to be councillors skipping out on meetings just because they’re getting paid anyway,” Wilson said.

After increasing the base salary to the average of Banff, Jasper and Canmore, adopting a “no-diem approach” would result in an all-encompassing annual salary of $114,417 for the mayor and $36,056 for councillors.

The current base salaries are $81,816 for the mayor and $19,085 for councillors. Coun. Wendy Hall highlighted how this does not include the extra per-diem pay.

“I think that was a big piece that was missing in this report, and I did get that feedback from the residents,” Hall said.

Many survey respondents found the mayor’s proposed salary to be fair given the commitment involved while others thought the salary should be more modest.

The responses were more varied for the proposed councillor salary, with some thinking it was just right, some saying it was too high and others saying it was too low. Administration stated the feedback depended on the respondents’ perception of the workload.

As for matching the pay with other mountain towns, many respondents favoured a more “context-specific approach” because Jasper had a smaller population size and more budgetary constraints.

Other proposed pay changes include only adjusting salaries for inflation once halfway through a council term, rather than annually, and formalizing the mayor’s allowance for phone and phone service.

The total net increase in annual pay and benefits would be $91,702.

Council will make a final decision next month. It also directed administration to return with an alternative proposal that keeps per diems while incorporating the average of the mountain towns for the base salary.