OLDS — It appears town staff may not get their cost of living adjustment (COLA) this year at least.
During council’s April 6 policies and priorities meeting, finance director Sheena Linderman said the assessed value of property in Olds had fallen by only 1.1 per cent, well below the two per cent anticipated.
As a result, the town ended up with an increase in tax revenues of $364,787.
One suggestion to utilize some of that money was to provide town staff with a COLA for those municipal employees who haven’t had one for a while, due to the pandemic and other tough economic times in the community.
It was noted that earlier, council agreed to freeze the COLA this year due to tight financial conditions.
Some councillors liked the COLA idea, but others didn’t. The issue is expected to come back to council at a later date.
Deputy mayor Mary Anne Overwater was among who expressed interest in the idea
So did Mayor Michael Muzychka. He said town employees worked hard during the pandemic and not all have been recognized for that.
“In all the comparisons that we do to like municipalities, we have one of the best overall staffs there is in the province -- right from reception to operations to the aquatic centre,” Muzychka said.
“Every employee in the town of Olds has stepped up to the plate and worked incredibly hard – not just through COVID – and I think we don’t shed enough light on that.”
On the other hand, he conceded that “there are a lot of people in our town who have no work at all.”
Coun. Heather Ryan said she too appreciates all the work town staff do, but echoed Muzychka’s point about those who lost work before or during the pandemic and remain unemployed.
"I do appreciate the staff, what they've done for the whole past year, but I can’t, you know, in all good conscience, accept going ahead with the COLA because as the mayor just pointed out, there were a lot of people who lost their jobs during the year and they do not have employment and it doesn’t even look good for this year as well,” Ryan said.
Coun. Mitch Thomson agreed.
“I think council made a sound decision on COLA. It was unfortunate, but it was based on reality and where our budget is,” Thomson said.
He also pointed out that the town has other cost increases coming, including higher RCMP costs.
“I think at this point, we need to get off the fence and just be clear. It was a tough decision, but we made it unfortunately," he said.
“If we’re going to make any further investments, I think they need to be strategic. Otherwise, these funds should go back into the reserves to cover off some of the other deficits that we’re going to face.”
