We at the Advocate like sound fiscal policy. We don’t like governments wasting cash on frivolous endeavours, or politicians pocketing money from shady sources.
The Town of Athabasca’s new Mayor Colleen Powell has proposed that a citizens’ committee study and make recommendations on how members of council should be paid.
We think it’s a great idea.
As Powell said, politicians deciding how to pay themselves sets a bad precedent. In a system where reporting conflict of interest is so important, it does not make sense that the people being paid decide their salaries.
Powell also brought up another issue – that the public usually doens’t like to see their politicians get pay increases. If the proposal is coming from the average Joe, however, it could help others see the value.
This point also highlights a long-lasting problem in citizen attitude towards their political leaders.
Many people don’t like the idea that politicians should be paid well or get any pay increases at all. Whenever the topic comes up, it is often framed that the politicians’ pay hikes come at the expense of government services. The idea of politicians being compensated better than they are at any given moment has become intrinsically unpopular.
Sure, there has been corruption and systematic abuse in terms of pay. But the wrongs of the few shouldn’t put strain on the backs of others. The jobs of our elected officials are vitally important and should be compensated accordingly, or it will be difficult to get good candidates out, like any other job.
We expect our elected officials to do a good job. We expect them to manage our communities effectively. We expect them to be accountable to us whenever we ask. We expect them to be transparent. We expect them to attend meetings, appear in the community regularly and be good leaders. They should be compensated for bearing the burden of these expectations and thus bear them with excellence and enthusiasm. Should they fail in a significant way, their good pay should give the public all the more reason to hold their feet to the fire.
