TAMRMS#: B06
7.3
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Amendments to Council Policy C-CC-03 Council Remuneration and Expense Reimbursement
Presented by: Diane McMordie, Director, Financial Services and Information Technology/CFO
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RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
recommendation
1. That revised policy C-CC-03 Council Remuneration and Expense Reimbursement, provided as an attachment to the June 8, 2021 agenda report titled, “Amendments to Council Policy C-CC-03”, be approved.
2. That Administration draft a Council Remuneration Review Committee Bylaw for presentation to the Community Growth and Infrastructure Standing Committee on July 12, 2021.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
There are three amendments being brought forward:
1. An update to schedule 1 to properly reflect Mayor/Council Member salaries that are effective as of April 1, 2021.
2. An update to the timing of when the Council Remuneration Committee will be established from the third year of Council’s term to the first year of Council’s term.
3. Amendments to section 33 of the policy and section 41 of the procedures to provide clarity around conflict of interest and third party interactions as it relates to reimbursement of expenses.
ALIGNMENT TO PRIORITIES IN COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC PLAN
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO LEVELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
N/A
ALIGNMENT TO COUNCIL DIRECTION OR MANDATORY STATUTORY PROVISION
N/A
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Schedule 1 of policy C-CC-03 is to be updated annually to reflect current salaries of the Mayor and Council Members. The March 16, 2020 update, while incorporating some other required updates, did not include an update to Schedule 1. It is also being recommended that the annual update amending schedule 1 is to state the salaries as of April 1st each year rather than the January 1 date currently listed. The rationale for this change is that Mayor/Council Member salaries are adjusted each year on April 1 so the January 1 value is outdated within weeks of the Policy amendment being approved.
Within the Policy, Responsibilities 2.a the CAO shall Apply the Edmonton Consumer Price Index to calculate updated annual remuneration amounts for the Mayor and Council Members. Further, procedure 1 states “The City shall use the Edmonton Consumer Price Index for December 31 of the prior year, as published by Statistics Canada when calculating annual remuneration amounts for the Mayor and other Council Members. The Edmonton CPI value at December 31, 2020 has been published at 0.7%.
Council declined the salary increase for April 1, 2020; therefore, the salary values that became effective April 1, 2019 are being increased by 0.7% and are reflected on the revised Schedule 1 to this Policy which has been included as an attachment.
The current schedule posted on the website reflects Council/Mayor Salaries as of January 1, 2019. Although Council received an increase on April 1, 2019 the schedule was not updated to reflect this change therefore the "change" in salary that shows on the document reflects both a 2.1% increase that became effective on April 1, 2019 as well as the 0.7% increase that became effective on April 1, 2021 as shown below:
Jan 1, 2019
Mayor $131,920
Councillor $51,390
April 2019 - 2.1%
Mayor $134,690
Councillor $52,469
April 2020 - no change
April 2021 - 0.7%
Mayor $135,633
Councillor $52,836
The second proposed change to the Policy is to amend the timing of when the Remuneration Committee is formed. The current Policy states that the Committee shall be formed in the third year of a Council term. Based on this schedule, the Committee should have been formed in 2020; however, due to COVID this item was deferred. Some discussions have occurred to suggest that recommendations from the Committee to Council on remuneration would more appropriately be addressed by the incoming Council during their first year in office.
In order to establish a Committee of Council, a bylaw must be enacted. The last bylaw enacted for this purpose was Bylaw 22/2011 Consolidated by Bylaw 18/2015; however, this Bylaw was rescinded on May 28, 2018 by Bylaw 25/2018 and is no longer valid. It is recommended that a new bylaw be drafted that will allow for disbandment of the Committee once their work is complete without the need to repeal the bylaw each time.
The third amendment seeks to provide clarity and ensure consistency between section 33 of the policy and section 41 of the procedures as it relates to interactions with third parties.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
None
IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDATION(S)
Financial:
Legal / Risk:
It is important that Council policies remain up to date with relevant and current information.
Program or Service:
None at this time
Organizational:
None at this time
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
If Council does not wish to support the recommendation, the following alternatives could be considered:
Alternative 1. Do not update the policy to reflect current salaries. This is not recommended as policies should present relevant and current information.
Alternative 2. Do not amend the timeline for the establishment of the Council Remuneration Review Committee. If this alternative is chosen, the committee should be struck in 2021 with the aim to complete recommendations for Council consideration prior to the October election.
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Report Date: June 8, 2021
Author(s): Diane McMordie
Department: Financial Services and Information Technology
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: Kevin Scoble