Lac La Biche County councillors voted to give themselves pay raises that will cost the municipality an extra $150,000 this year.
At a meeting last Tuesday, council voted unanimously for increases to the base salary for elected officials, and also raised the per diems they are paid for attending meetings and events.
The draft 2012 annual budget states that paying for council will cost Lac La Biche County $827,423.74 in 2012, up from $672,579 in 2011.
The mayor’s annual salary will increase from $37,488.28 to $47,000, the deputy mayor’s from $27,019.80 to $32,000, and councillor’s from $24,611.58 to $27,000.
The per diems — which councillors can claim for council and committee meetings lasting more than four hours, conventions, conferences, public planning sessions, training, and relevant travel — increased from $160 to $250. Meetings less than four hours earn each councillor $125.
County documents say councillors requested a comparison of their compensation with 10 other Alberta municipalities. Mayor Peter Kirylchuk said Lac La Biche’s councillor compensation was at the “low end” of the benchmark study.
“Lac La Biche council hasn’t had a pay increase in six or seven years,” Kirylchuk said. “So council decided to keep up with the rest of the municipalities in Alberta.”
According to prepared documents, council will have 65 meetings this year, 35 conference or travel days, and councillors will attend an average of six committee meetings per month. Conservative math will have each council member earning an extra $14,000 per year in meeting pay, plus their salary increases. All told, the mayor, deputy mayor and each councillor will make at least $60,000, $50,000, and $40,000 respectively in 2012.
Council also voted to increase the amount a councillor or committee member can claim for food in one day from $52 to $65 — and that councillor or committee member will be reimbursed for spending up to twice that amount.
Kirylchuk said the increases, although potentially unpopular with taxpayers, help entice people to serve as elected officials.
“It’s always a difficult decision to vote for a raise because of the public perception,” the mayor said. “But I’d say the compensation now certainly is fair — and to attract people, you have to be willing to pay above average.”
The pay raises and per diems will be paid retroactively to Jan. 1.