Naheed Nenshi vs Michelle Rempel

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I thought he and council had no say in their salaries and that he donates a decent chunk of his?

That is true, but whatever it's tied to, which i forget is still out of touch - also he says he donates it but has anyone every followed up on that - regardless it doesn't look the greatest

Edit:

which is tied to the increase or decrease in average weekly earnings of Albertans

Would be nice to all have that!

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I thought he and council had no say in their salaries and that he donates a decent chunk of his?

This is true, he donates 10 percent of his salary - but so what? The differential is still pretty much same - he still makes 40K more than 6 years ago

Before the donation
218,285- 177,000 = 41,285

After donation
196,456.50 - 159,300 = 37,156

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

That is true, but whatever it's tied to, which i forget is still out of touch - also he says he donates it but has anyone every followed up on that - regardless it doesn't look the greatest

Edit:



Would be nice to all have that!

Any change to what it's tied to has to be voted on by the whole council, a few years ago Nenshi voted to tie it to the CPI, which was slower growing at the time than AWE, but that was defeated by council.

They also instituted a wage freeze in 2014/15, and most members of council donate more than the increase amount to local Calgary charities every year. I think you're right, it doesn't look the "greatest" but it does look pretty great. You don't see a lot of people donating double-digit percentages of their yearly salary every year.

If you'd like that salary, you and anyone else is welcome to run for city council or the mayor's position. An election is coming up soon! Perfect time to turn "would be nice" into a reality.

Also, worth noting, that they all took a 2.49% pay cut this year, as the AWE dropped.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Any change to what it's tied to has to be voted on by the whole council

Voting your own raises - bad

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

a few years ago Nenshi voted to tie it to the CPI, which was slower growing at the time than AWE, but that was defeated by council.

That looks good on him, but he could of probably already knew it would be defeated and took a chance on the good optics

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

They also instituted a wage freeze in 2014/15, and most members of council donate more than the increase amount to local Calgary charities every year. I think you're right, it doesn't look the "greatest" but it does look pretty great. You don't see a lot of people donating double-digit percentages of their yearly salary every year.

Because they don't? Or can't?

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

If you'd like that salary, you and anyone else is welcome to run for city council or the mayor's position. An election is coming up soon! Perfect time to turn "would be nice" into a reality.

Ah yes that argument! You are correct I could but - I cherish honestly, integrity and logic - so i would not be a good fit in the political world!

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Also, worth noting, that they all took a 2.49% pay cut this year, as the AWE dropped.

This is true - in extraordinary circumstances it dropped

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Voting your own raises - bad



That looks good on him, but he could of probably already knew it would be defeated and took a chance on the good optics



Because they don't? Or can't?



Ah yes that argument! You are correct I could but - I cherish honestly, integrity and logic - so i would not be a good fit in the political world!

Ah, one of those "everything bad is bad and everything good is just bad in fancy dress" types.

Never mind. Down with the purple prince I guess.

[V]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Salary when elected $177,000
Current salary: $218,285

Yikes, is that all he makes? That seems crazy low.

[troutman]

Seems to me the Mayor of a city with 1.1 Million people should be paid at least $200K. Many people qualified to be Mayor would have to take a serious pay cut in taking that job.

[calgaryblood]

Yeah he probably made close to that at the university and with the education and experience I'm sure he could find a way better paying job. High school teachers can make over $100,000 for crying out loud.

This isn't about money for him and pointing to his salary is pretty weak.

[Fuzz]

MP Salary:$170,400

I think we have found Rempel's goal here...

[V]

There has to be a bonus or something tied to that, no? 200k is peanuts for that level of responsibility.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by V

There has to be a bonus or something tied to that, no? 200k is peanuts for that level of responsibility.

He's still the highest paid mayor in Canada.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

He's still the highest paid mayor in Canada.

Someone has to be and I'm sure they are pretty close in salary and the differnce is insignificant.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by troutman

Seems to me the Mayor of a city with 1.1 Million people should be paid at least $200K. Many people qualified to be Mayor would have to take a serious pay cut in taking that job.

It's really an argument of perspective - too some that is a lot of money, to others it's not

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

He's still the highest paid mayor in Canada.

Not surprising given that he's in Alberta, which despite the downturn, has a pretty significant premium for talent compared to the rest of the country.

If you look at pretty much any role at the company I work at, the highest paid individuals are in Alberta. Why would mayor be different?

[Flash Walken]

What does 'Kiss the Purple Ring' mean?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What does 'Kiss the Purple Ring' mean?

Oh, theres probably a horrible gastro-intestinal disease related answer to that, but really its probably not worth thinking about...

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What does 'Kiss the Purple Ring' mean?

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

It's really an argument of perspective - too some that is a lot of money, to others it's not

How is it an argument of perspective? A homeless person will likely think someone making $25 an hour makes a lot of money but should we take their opinion into consideration? The salary Nenshi makes is peanuts for the job he does.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

How is it an argument of perspective? A homeless person will likely think someone making $25 an hour makes a lot of money but should we take their opinion into consideration? The salary Nenshi makes is peanuts for the job he does.

You can compare it historically. 25 years ago, Calgary aldermen made $30k a year and mayor made about $70k ($115k in today's dollars).

Executive salaries in the private sector have been rising steeply for 20 years, far faster than inflation, or the rise in the salary of average employees. I guess the question is whether you think that's warranted, and a thing the public sector needs to match. Are organizations better run today because those at the top earn 5x times the average salary rather than 3x?

I get that you want to attract the best talent. But maybe the whole compensation system for those at the top - private and public - has gotten out of whack.