Hold onto your wallets, St. Albert – city council's getting a massive raise.
Hold onto your wallets, St. Albert – city council's getting a massive raise.
After getting hit right in the pocketbook by the recent provincial budget, municipal costs are set to go up after council decided unilaterally, without public notice or consultation, to change their currently part-time positions to full-time.
There will also be more people around the council table. Rather than at-large councillors, the city will now be divided into 20 wards, one for every neighbourhood in St. Albert.
What about the city's already full-time mayor, who clocks more hours in a week than most would in a month? Getting a big fat raise.
As is only appropriate for St. Albert's status as one of the best places to live in Canada, Mayor Nolan Crouse will now be one of the best paid mayors, raking in $300,000 a year, a good chunk more than the now second-best paid politician in Alberta, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
The raise doesn't include a brand new bike, which is to be presented to Crouse at a future council meeting as part of a new bonus structure. The bike's handlebars will be emblazoned with the city's crest while the frame will be painted green to represent the city's botanical arts brand.
“The mayor's love of biking around St. Albert to get a close-up look at things is well known,” said Coun. Cathy Heron. “Now, when he's cycling about the city streets, he'll be appropriately branded.”
The ramifications of this change are yet to be seen, and no one's quite sure how the newly expanded council – not to mention, the renovations needed in council chambers to accommodate 14 new councillors – will be funded.
But no one on council seems to be asking those questions. Instead, they seem enthusiastic about the increase to their take-home pay. The new full-time councillors will draw a salary of $100,000 a year.
“I can't wait to see what a full-time council can come up with,” said Coun. Cam MacKay. “Twenty politicians running around a city of 65,000 looking for pet projects to spend money on doesn't worry me at all.”
Council was unrepentant about the fact that they didn't seek public input into the decision-making on the raise issue, even though members of the public have previously been part of the process.
“Public consultation isn't needed in this case. In fact, it's probably rarely needed. After all, we were elected to be decisive,” said Coun. Tim Osborne.
The new councillors will be added as soon as council can arrange to hold a byelection to fill the seats. The current six councillors and the mayor will retain their positions at the table.
“I look forward to greeting our new council colleagues,” said Coun. Sheena Hughes. “Maybe now we can get some changes made around here if more people vote to save money.”
Not a single councillor interviewed expressed any hesitation about giving Crouse such a massive raise.
“He deserves it,” said Coun. Wes Brodhead.
While council may be pleased, some residents are already speaking out about the unilateral decision made behind closed doors and the potential impact on the city's bottom line.
“This will place an unimaginable burden on St. Albert taxpayers,” said local economist and St. Albert resident Scrooge McCheap.
McCheap, found the idea of full-time councillors or such high raises to be “unbelievable.”
“Only a fool would believe something like this,” McCheap said.
Happy April Fool's Day!
