DIDSBURY - Council has approved a updated remuneration policy, setting new pay levels for council members elected in October. The move came by way of a motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The new policy takes effect on Oct. 18, 2021, and is the result of work conducted by the town’s ad hoc citizens committee, which presented recommendations to council in June.
Those recommendations were reviewed by the strategic planning committee before being brought back before council on Sept. 14.
In its work the ad hoc committee used a comparative spreadsheet supplied by administration for the review process, looked at the current economic situation in the community and province, and at Town of Didsbury staff salaries compared with comparable communities.
The committee recommended that the per diem hourly rate for council be set at $36.50 to keep it in line with the 60th percentile range of comparable communities. The current rate is $42.75 an hour.
The committee recommended that the mayor’s compensation be reduced $300 per month to $2,308 per month from the current $2,608 per month.
The committee also recommended that the deputy mayor’s compensation be set at $1,369 per month with a $50 per meeting fee added when attending in place of the mayor.
Another recommendation was that councillor pay be reduced by $65 per month to $1,369 per month from the current $1,434.44 per month.
In passing a motion on Sept. 14, council accepted the recommended changes made by the ad hoc committee. The complete new council remuneration policy is available for view on the town’s website.
The council elected in October could choose to revisit the town’s remuneration compensation policy.
