Edmonton mayor tries to cut his salary by $3,000 but council says ‘no’

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Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi wants to take a $3,000 pay cut so his and Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s salaries are the same.

But city council disagreed Thursday, voting against Sohi’s motion to reduce his annual base pay from $216,585 to $213,737, Gondek’s base salary for 2024. Only councillors Aaron Paquette, Tim Cartmell, Michael Janz and Jennifer Rice agreed with Sohi. Some councillors feared changing the mayor’s pay would “politicize” salaries currently set by an independent committee appointed by the city clerk’s office, a process that’s been in place for more than two decades.

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The mayor’s goal was to close the gap between the salaries for the leaders of Alberta’s two biggest cities. Calgary city council froze wages from 2019-2021 but salaries were only frozen in Edmonton for two years, in 2020 and 2021. Sohi said the gap could widen between now and when the next salary review is set for 2032.

“I tried to close that gap. I understand why my council colleagues didn’t support it, but I felt it was important,” he said at a break in the meeting. “The responsibilities of both mayors are the same. We work in the same context with the relationship with the provincial government, the federal government — complex cities.”

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Media coverage of council pay and the public’s interest in salaries was also on the mayor’s mind.

Reporting in this newspaper on council’s 2.4 per cent pay raise for 2024 and Edmonton’s high ranking for Canadian mayoral salaries was widely circulated.

“I think you media folks, as well as members of the public, have raised some legitimate questions about the gap between how the mayor of Calgary and mayor of Edmonton are compensated, the base salary,” he told reporters.  “The salaries of all public officials are scrutinized, rightfully so, and they should be, because we work on behalf of people. I’m accountable to them.”

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Despite attempting to cut his pay — and criticism from his colleagues about “politicizing” salaries — Sohi said the independent process is important.

“I don’t want to politicize the salaries of mayors and councilors, because it is determined by an independent citizens group,” he said.

“As politicians, we should not be determining our salaries. Our salary should be determined by an independent group of citizens.”

The base pay for city councillors for 2024 is $122,363.

Council pay will increase based on Alberta’s average weekly earnings index next year.

Pay should be independent: Knack

Coun. Andrew Knack agrees with the mayor that politicians should not decide how much they will be paid.

City council decided about 25 years ago taking themselves out of the process would be good for building the public’s trust, Knack said.

“I shouldn’t be setting my own salary, right? And it’s that simple,” he said. “This process was brought in to de-politicize what is a very political issue — politician pay.

“My concern is that would have changed a process which is meant to be independent, which is meant to help give confidence to the public that we’re not going to start getting involved in a process depending on which way the political winds are blowing. Because the minute you do that, then you open yourself up to what happens provincially, what happens federally, over and over and over again, which is people will constantly find ways to try to score points using salaries instead of saying it’s based off good evidence.”

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Coun. Aaron Paquette wanted council to freeze salaries for this year to show leadership with the city potentially seeing a 8.1 per cent property tax increase next year. But council voted to proceed with the process as planned, with Paquette the only council member ultimately voting to not accept the independent committee’s recommendations.

“Times are tough and people are really tightening their belts, and I don’t see why elected government officials shouldn’t also show that solidarity and leadership and also tighten their belts,” he told Postmedia.

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@laurby

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