Dear Editor:
I read the article regarding the salary of Rimbey’s mayor with interest. I did a quick survey using publicly available figures to see how our mayor’s salary compared to those communities in the surrounding area, as outlined in this table:
TownPopulationTotal Salary
2009 2008Salary per Capita (2009)
Rimbey2,496$66,359 $54,149$26.59 per person
Turner Valley2,022$21,671 $24,200$10.72
Redwater 2,100 $32,581 $31,670$15.51
Ponoka6,576$28,580 $27,066$4.35
Rocky Mtn. House7,231$43,220 $49,549$5.98
Sylvan Lake11,115NA $26,791—
Red Deer85,000$95,236 $87,436$1.12
It seems to me the issue of reasonable salaries and benefits for councillors and the mayor needs to be a campaign issue in the fall.
I believe elected officials who set their wages have an obligation to inform the voters before taking any kind of raise. When it comes to taxpayers’ dollars, transparency in government is absolutely essential. When determining what is fair, it is not simply how many hours a person works; we must also take into account the size of the town and the ability of taxpayers to pay.
It’s the voters who must decide at the next election if the salaries that the council members have awarded themselves are truly reasonable and justified.
Sheldon Ibbotson,
Rimbey