Cold Lake, AB – The City of Cold Lake’s Elected Official Compensation Review Committee will meet today to continue its work of reviewing the pay packages for elected officials in the City of Cold Lake.

The committee, which consists of four members of the community and two council members, has been tasked with providing a recommendation to council regarding the salaries, per diems and honoraria that councillors and the mayor receive.

Once a recommendation is provided, Council will consider the committee’s recommendation. Any changes to the pay packages for elected officials will not take effect until after the next municipal election, scheduled for October 2025.

“This can be a challenging topic for elected officials, and we find that the best way to have the discussion is to have the issue studied by members of our community,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “Some members of council are at the table to give insight into the work that elected officials do, but ultimately community members make up a majority of the committee, and then the entire community will get to vote for their mayor and council before any changes take place.”

The committee has been reviewing the pay packages of neighbouring municipalities, as well as the pay in comparable municipalities around the province as it frames their recommendation to council. They are also looking at the amount of commitments the Elected Officials have relating to their appointments, committees, commissions and community group liaisons, conferences, etc.

The recommendation will be debated publicly at a regular council meeting before a final vote is made. It is expected the process will be complete before the end of the summer.

Information regarding the existing renumeration for Elected Officials can be found at: www.coldlake.com/bylaws under Administrative Policies (123-AD-10, Council Compensation Policy).

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