Whether you are comparing property tax rates, the state of infrastructure, or the number of, or salaries of, municipal employees, direct comparisons of municipalities is never an easy task, nor is it an exact science.
Over the years I have heard many debates in the council chamber about how to select the most appropriate comparator municipalities. We heard such a debate during Monday’s council meeting as they discussed the setting of comparator municipalities for an upcoming municipal staff salary market review, which will be undertaken by a consultant at an estimated cost of $30,000.
Staff provided council with the list of 14 comparator municipalities that was used for the 2021 salary market review, and it was no surprise to see council debate some of the municipalities on the list.
The 2021 salary market review did not include all municipal positions, but the upcoming review will include the full municipal pay grid.
“The current Salary Grid is comprised of seventeen (17) Grades. In 2021, the Salary Market Review that was completed was limited to a review that included only Grade six (6) to Grade seventeen (17). This review will be comprehensive and include the entire Salary Grid,” staff noted in their report to council.
Councillor Harley Greenfield moved to remove Wasaga Beach from the list arguing that it is not a good comparison for Meaford, while Councillors Steve Bartley and Rob Uhrig suggested that Southgate should be included in the list of comparators. Ultimately council opted to remove Wasaga Beach from the list, and they added Southgate.
With council’s revision on Monday, the 14 municipalities which the consultant will use as comparators for the salary market review are: Collingwood, Owen Sound, Southgate, Midland, Clearview, Saugeen Shores, West Grey, Georgian Bluffs, Tay, Grey Highlands, Penetanguishene, Hanover, Goderich, and The Town of The Blue Mountains.
While comparing municipalities might not be perfect, it is necessary in order to gauge Meaford’s competitiveness in the labour market.
I have often heard arguments that one municipality or another shouldn’t be used as a comparison for Meaford. “They don’t have a waterfront or marina”, or “They don’t have a facility like Meaford Hall”, or “They don’t have a mix of urban and rural” are just a few of the arguments against the inclusion of some municipalities that I have heard over the years. Though, as one member of council quietly told me recently, the reality is that “Meaford is not special, it is not unique”, or at least Meaford isn’t as unique as some would like to think when it comes to deciding which municipalities we should be compared to.
Should a municipality with a union be a comparator to Meaford? Should municipalities that don’t have an arena be compared? Should municipalities with large industrial bases be compared to Meaford? The questions are many, and can bring about significant debate as there are simply too many variables to consider, and a direct apples-to-apples comparison is rare if not impossible to find.
I most often hear the comparator debate when discussion turns to the number of municipal employees that we should have, or when comparing tax rates, or water rates. And while some argue that comparing municipalities is an exercise in futility, I think there is always a value in knowing how we compare to other municipalities: those that are similar to us, and those that are not so similar.
When it comes to the salaries paid to municipal employees, it is important to know what other municipalities pay their employees as, like it or not, Meaford must remain competitive.
While it is somewhat of a favourite past-time to grumble about the salaries paid to municipal employees, we can’t forget that, just like any business, attracting employees is not always easy as it is a competitive world. If Meaford is offering significantly less to prospective employees, we will see fewer applicants, and we will see lower quality applicants. So whether we like it or not, we must ensure that we offer competitive salaries and benefit packages if we hope to attract and retain employees.
As was mentioned at council on Monday, as it stands today, the salaries paid by the Municipality of Meaford are in the middle of the pack when compared to surrounding municipalities. Half of the comparator municipalities offer higher wages, while half offer salaries lower than what Meaford offers.
Being in the middle of the pack is a safe place to be for a municipal council, but it doesn’t make Meaford overly competitive when trying to fill vacant positions. It can, however, be comforting for ratepayers to know that we are not at the top of the pack paying excessive wages, and for municipal staff to know that, while they might make more elsewhere, they would be just as likely to make less at another municipality.
When ratepayers see six-figure salaries for the top positions in this municipality they can become outraged, but an updated salary market review can help to lessen that outrage with the realization that, while some municipalities pay less for similar positions, just as many pay more, sometimes much more – assuming of course that after the review and any adjustments to the pay grid that council might approve keeps us in the middle of the pack.
“A well executed salary market review for employees can have wide-ranging impact on the community. Ensuring salaries are competitive helps the Municipality attract and retain skilled professionals, and aims to retain experienced employees and in turn, institutional knowledge. Fair and transparent salary practices help to foster trust between residents and local government. By aligning compensation with market realities, the Municipality aims to support the workforce and enhance public service delivery and strengthen community trust,” staff noted in their report to council.
I think that the list of 14 comparators approved by council are good candidates for comparison. They are all in the same general region as Meaford, and there is a good mix of urban and rural municipalities as well as municipalities with higher populations, along with communities that are smaller than Meaford. As mentioned, there are no perfect comparisons, and there doesn’t need to be; we just need to feel confident that the mix of municipalities that we compare ourselves to will give us some confidence that what we pay staff in this municipality is fair to the employees as well as to the ratepayers that fund those salaries.
