Although there are still four-and-a-half months left in the year, Irricana Town council has already exceeded its annual remuneration budget.
Councillors receive compensation for travel to and time spent on committees and boards.
The level of compensation for this year was set at around $33,000. So far, councillors have remitted costs for nearly $35,000.
Acting CAO Alvin Melton said the Town needs to examine its committees and how meetings are run to increase efficiency.
“We want to reorganize and re-evaluate… the organization of the committees in the town,” said Melton.
“I think we can be more efficient.”
According to Melton, council is specifically looking at the possibility of combining the library, agricultural society and recreation boards under one committee.
“I believe we are committeeing ourselves to death,” said Melton. “The more efficient you get the committees and meetings, the better the savings for the town.”
Melton added that council will also examine the budget, as this year’s council remuneration allocation was lower than that of both 2008 and 2009, which were $45,888 and $43,677, respectively.
In 2010, councillors received a total of $33,632.
The average amount for council remuneration in towns of similar size is $41,885.
Melton said meeting fees and travel expenses have been the two most expensive budget items this year.
In fact, council has already collected more than $14,000 for meetings and $9,000 for travel this year.
Last year, the total collected for meeting fees was just over $10,000, while councillors only received $2,800 for mileage and travel time.
Melton added that council is already looking at next year’s budget.
Mayor Josh Taylor said this year’s budget was determined from the 2010 document, and council’s allowance may have been too low.
“Last year was a really cheap year for council,” he said.
“We have to sit down and do the numbers again. The budget should have been a little bit higher, but with the new councillors, they were charging for things the previous council didn’t.”
Jen Avery, a former town councillor and former Rocky View Schools trustee, is concerned that council is over budget.
Avery spearheaded the petition campaign that resulted in a recent announcement that the office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs will be investigating the Town.
“It is my personal opinion, with making the budget so late, they should have been able to make a proper budget,” said Avery
“If you can’t do a budget that is only a month old and be on par with it, that is mismanagement. I think they failed 100 per cent in their budgeting process this year.”
