Council salaries now tied to MLAs'

The salaries of Yorkton's Mayor and Council could be increasing if Council accepts the recommendations of the Remuneration Committee.

In September of 2012, Administration brought a report forward to Council in order to review the Council Remuneration Policy and amounts paid to Members of Council. This report showed that after conducting a survey of 5 other Saskatchewan Cities of similar size or slightly larger, it was determined that the salaries for the Mayor and Council for the City of Yorkton were the lowest of the communities surveyed, explained the report circulated at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday.

Prior to the 2012 Civic Election, Council directed the City Manager and City Clerk to establish a Council Remuneration Review Committee consisting of five prominent members of our business community.

"The mandate given to us as a Committee was to review the complete remuneration package for Mayor and Council and bring forward any recommendations deemed appropriate for Council remuneration now and into the future. Our mandate also included the challenge to develop a policy that can stand the test of time," explained Committee representative Kevin Lukey.

The City Clerk's office provided the Committee with remuneration data and policy information from 16 Cities in Western Canada, including five from Saskatchewan having a population between 15,000 and 35,000. Committee members also conducted additional research individually.

"The City of Yorkton is a public corporation with an annual budget of more than $18 million dollars provides services to a population approaching 20,000 people," said Lukey.

"We recognize that historically compensation rates for Mayor and Council have been lower than the private sector because they have included a component of Civic contribution and we are not proposing to change that."

In terms of the Mayor's salary Lukey said the Committee recommends the City, "Set the Mayor's remuneration at 75 per cent of the annual salary for a Saskatchewan MLA."

And a Saskatchewan MLA currently makes $91,800.00 per annum. 75 per cent of this amount is $68,850.00

"Three Saskatchewan cities currently set their remuneration at a percentage of a Provincial Cabinet Minister`s salary. We are recommending the MLA salary be used as the base. Using the MLA salary allows Council to adopt a method of determining remuneration that is at arm's length," added Lukey.

Councillor salaries will be tied to the Mayor's.

"Out of the Saskatchewan cities surveyed Councillor`s salaries were based on 30 - 35 per cent of the Mayor's. In the past this has been set at 30 per cent for Yorkton Councillor's. We are recommending that the percentage stay the same," said Lukey.

It was also recommended to "Phase in the Mayor and Councillor salary increases over a two year period, with half of the increase being paid in 2013 and the balance in 2014," said Lukey.

"Having the increase phased in will allow Administration to budget the increases for the salary amounts."

The per diem for Councillors was recommended to be set at $150 per day.

Currently the per diem amount is $110 per day. This is an amount that the Councillor`s receives per day when out of the city on City business. This amount is to offset the salary amount when they need to take a day off work, explained the report.

"At $150 per day, this works out to $18.75 per hour for an eight hour day," said Lukey.

It was also suggested the Mayor have access to benefits.

As the Mayor is considered a full-time employee, he would be eligible to go on the City of Yorkton benefit plan. Currently full-time employees receive $130 per month from the City for their health and dental benefits. However, the Mayor would be responsible for his own LTD, STD, Life and AD&D which would currently cost approximately $230 per month, explained the report.

Lukey said the Committee believes its recommendations are reasonable ones.

"It is not a clear cut process to determine what the remuneration should be set at for the Mayor and Councillor in the City of Yorkton. We believe that the amounts recommended are reasonable. It is important to note that Yorkton is the third largest trading area in our province. It is the expectation of the residents that our Mayor and Council continue to support the growth patterns that we have been experiencing and that the Mayor is committed to promoting our City," he said.

"We believe that the remuneration proposed is fair to the taxpayers and is equitable enough so that it will continue to attract those members of the community that wish to provide this service to the citizens of our community."

The report was accepted and filed and will be back before Council for a decision at the April 9 meeting.