Compensation for Calgary’s water oversight board faces questions - BERITAJA

Compensation for early members of the city’s h2o oversight committee is “money good spent,” according to Calgary’s mayor, arsenic the magnitude is questioned by immoderate connected council.

City assembly approved the creation of the Water Utility Oversight Board successful February, and asked metropolis management to statesman “a skills-based recruitment process” pinch a third-party firm, arsenic good arsenic create a compensation framework.

Establishing an independent master oversight committee to counsel assembly and metropolis management connected the city’s h2o strategy was 1 of respective “near-term” recommendations from an independent sheet tasked pinch reviewing the 2024 nonaccomplishment of the Bearspaw feeder main — its first of 2 failures successful little than 2 years.

“This oversight committee is an basal portion of america showing Calgarians that we are taking accountability and that we’re pursuing up the recommendations pinch the needed actions to guarantee that thing for illustration this never, ever happens again present successful the city,” Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters Tuesday.

City management has recommended a $70,000 yearly retainer for the board’s early chair, arsenic good arsenic $30,000 for each committee member.

Board members will person an further interest of $1,000 per meeting, erstwhile the number of meetings exceeds 8 per year.

According to metropolis administration, the compensation model was developed pinch patient WTW utilizing examples from different utilities crossed the country.

The compensation is “materially higher” owed to the “specialized natures of the roles,” and size of the workload expected complete the first 2 years of the board, management said.

Farkas called the compensation “relatively nominal,” and said he could show Calgarians that it is “money good spent.”

“When you look astatine the knowledgeable professionals that we’re going to beryllium recruiting, they would beryllium making 10 times, 20 times, 30 times much successful the backstage assemblage if they were providing the balanced advice,” he said.

“If we want the champion folks, we person beryllium prepared to salary for that expertise.”

City management warned the compensation whitethorn not beryllium seen arsenic capable for the “public floor plan of the role,” pinch a constricted excavation of candidates pinch the h2o inferior expertise required.

Some Calgarians, however, person questions about the compensation model for the early board.

“Seems for illustration a spot much, particularly for a nationalist service,” Andrew McMurray told BERITAJA.

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot had akin concerns pinch the pay. He was 1 of 3 councillors who voted against administration’s recommendations erstwhile they were successful beforehand of committee past week.

Chabot pointed to Calgarians who service connected different metropolis boards and commissions connected a mostly unpaid basis, pinch a stipend for gathering related expenses getting approved conscionable this year.

“We person truthful galore group who put guardant their names to beryllium connected different committees, group pinch master designations successful truthful galore different fields,” Chabot said.

“They utilized to do each of their activity connected our committees connected a unpaid basis. We only conscionable started paying them this word and it’s a very humble honorarium. This goes acold beyond modest.”

However, Farkas pointed to the fast-tracked building of a replacement tube for the Bearspaw feeder main, arsenic good arsenic the soul governance changes to h2o services, arsenic rationale that a committee of experts will beryllium required.

“We’ll beryllium capable to supply the assurance to Calgarians that this is being done properly,” he told reporters.

A committee chair for the oversight committee is expected to beryllium appointed sometime successful July, according to a timeline from metropolis administration, pinch a extremity of establishing the committee earlier the extremity of the year.