Red Deer city councillors may receive extra pay for working on committees run outside City Hall.
The Governance and Policy Committee, which includes all members of council, discussed on Monday whether elected leaders should be paid to sit on external committees.
Legislative and Governance Services manager Elaine Vincent said that some councillors sit on five external boards. Three of these committees don’t cover expenses or pay per diems (pay for attending). For example, Paul Harris sits on a committee with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and doesn’t get paid a per diem.
“External committees are above and beyond the base salary and you can or cannot treat them separately — that’s the decision you will have to make,” said Vincent during the meeting.
The committee recommended that per diems be given for these external committees. The rate would match the rate of the only external board that pays per diems, which is the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA). It pays around $235 a day, versus the old City of Red Deer per diem rate of $225 a day.
The committee considered reversing council’s decision last November, which took away per diems and left council with an annual salary.
Mayor Morris Flewwelling said he felt council’s decision was a good one. It had been taking a lot of staff time to review meetings that councillors attended and then pay them.
“I have worked the past nine years with no per diems,” he said.
He, along with Councillors Dianne Wyntjes, Chris Stephan and Paul Harris, voted down the recommendation to go back to per diems for all meetings, including workshops and city manager briefings. Councillors Lynne Mulder, Cindy Jefferies, Tara Veer and Frank Wong were in favour. Coun. Buck Buchanan was absent.
Mulder said she had received per diems for sitting on the Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) committee, which had met for “days and days” last year.
“If Coun. Harris is going to be away for a great deal of time, then we give him less work here too, if we’re going by salaries,” Mulder said. “Otherwise, I can’t see that there’s any other fairer way than to go with per diems for everything.”
The committees’ recommendation will go forward to council for approval.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com