Council approves one-time Per Diem

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

The issues of political correctness and morality were in the vanguard of last week’s regular council meeting, when council’s views were divided on the allotment of per diems for the upcoming CAO succession process interview.
Council was asked to consider a one-time $200 per day payment under the Council Remuneration and Expense Policy – Policy 1806 – allowing for all council members to attend the Feb. 27 interview process without losing wages.
The meeting allows the elected officials to meet with the short-listed candidates vying for the chief administrative officer position, soon to be left vacant by current CAO Dwight Stanford, who served Strathmore for 23 years and will retire on April 22.
The request to allow per diems, which provide council members with a per-day rate for attending workshops, conferences, and meetings in connection with the town, caused an animated debate among councillors.
While some councillors felt the per diem would be applicable, others felt it would only be appropriate for those missing a day’s work, and some were adamant about an all-or-nothing approach.
“Obviously these particular all-day meetings regarding this decision don’t happen too often for us councillors in our councillor lives, nevertheless, some of us have to take off a full day from work,” said Councillor Blokland who brought the topic to council on Feb. 17.
“I just brought this up for principle. I don’t care if I get the $200 or not… however, Feb. 27 is 10 days from now. If I get a huge call three days before that, for example, for a funeral that comes unannounced, and I have to look after a lunch for 300 people, I will not be here. I have to look after my business first.”
Councillor Brad Walls agreed, stating that under the circumstances the meeting calls for additional involvement beyond council’s duties. However, other councillors argued that since the meeting takes place on a Saturday and would not require some council members to miss work, each councillor’s annual salary should suffice.
The Remuneration and Expense Policy was amended on May. 21, 2014, and while the per diems reimburse those councillors that endured a loss of pay for taking time off their full-time jobs to attend meetings and workshops in relation to town business, there are limitations.
The per diems cover Alberta Urban Municipality (AUMA) and Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conferences to a maximum of four days a year, as well as spring and fall workshops for a maximum of four days annually.
Council voted five to two in favour of the amendments two years ago, which included a vote of approval from Councillor Pat Fule who had then argued that councillors shouldn’t face lost wages to attend such meetings. When Councillor Pat Fule spoke out in opposition of the proposal last week with concerns of setting a precedent for adding per diems as items come up, Councillor Blokland reminded him of his former approval.
“I’m glad you brought that up because I was raked over the coals for accepting the per diems for the spring and fall workshops and the AUMA, and in fact, I was told by a resident, that it was basically a hidden raise… he made a lot of sense that we are adding to our pay by having per diems paid for,” said Councillor Fule.
“If I don’t have to miss any work and I’m not in need of that per diem, then I shouldn’t necessarily have to take it. I’m not trying to be a hero, I’m not trying to undermine the rest of council. I’m speaking publicly about it, so I don’t feel I’m not being a team player.”
According to Policy 1806, the Mayor’s annual salary should be $44,000, while councillors are entitled to a $24,000 salary annually – all remunerations which are one-third non-taxable.
Councillor Denise Peterson also stated that she would support a motion focused on long-term policy when a councillor is forced to lose wages. While Councillor Fule and Councillor Peterson said they could support a motion that states those affected by loss of pay that day would be eligible for per diems, Councillor Grajczyk disagreed.
“I have difficulty with this one especially in the sense that if you want to take it you can take it… we’re all working as a team, or we’re not,” said Councillor Grajczyk.
“We’re supposed to either stick together as one team and we all take it, or we don’t take it. It looks like you can go around town saying ‘yeah I voted for it but I’m not taking the money.’ To me that’s politically incorrect, and it’s wrong.”
Councillor Denise Peterson and Councillor Bob Sobol were elected to fill the positions on the ad hoc committee, the CAO Succession Planning Committee, with Councillor Steve Grajczyk as an alternate, on July 22, 2015. As a result, roughly five individuals have been short-listed for the interviews.
In the end, council unanimously voted to pass the motion stating that the normal per diem rate of $200 per day be made available for those councillors wishing to expense it on Feb. 27 to recover lost wages/ income. This is in respect to Policy 1806 and would be a one-time exemption for the CAO Succession process interview scheduled for that date. Councillor Bob Sobol was absent during the council meeting.