Town of Leader swears in newly elected councillor May 5
By Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Your West Central Voice
The Town of Leader council welcomed their newly elected peer at the regular council meeting May 5.
In an interview with the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Erin Romanuik May 7 Your West Central Voice was informed newly elected councillor Kyle Prosser swore his oath of office and took his seat at the council table.
Prosser was elected in a by-election Apr. 29 by a vote count of 68 to 55 over opponent Dave Cunningham.
Council pay
Councillors approved several changes to their remuneration confirmed Romanuik. She stated that council base pay will increase by 3 per cent in years 2026, 2027 and 2028; as well, their per diem, or meeting rate, will be increased by $33.35. The CAO stated the Town of Leader usually uses provincial and federal “cost of living” data as a factor in such increases.
Closed session
Councillors elected to move into a private session to discuss human resources.
Staff pay increases
After returning to the public meeting councillors approved several increases to staff pay, noted Romanuik. They approved a 6 per cent pay increase for the CAO, a 3 per cent pay increase for the assistant administrator in addition to also increasing that staff member’s annual vacation period up to five weeks from four; Romanuik observed that staff member has worked for the Town of Leader for about 15 years.
As well, the town clerk received a pay increase of $1.21 per hour while the recreation director also received a 6 per cent pay increase. The CAO stated councillors approved these increases to better reflect industry standards.
New committee
The CAO stated that councillors approved first reading of Bylaw #03-26, which seeks to establish the Iceplex Fundraising Advisory committee. Romanuik stated that there are many important non-profit groups that use the Iceplex that have a deep understanding of how the facility works and have a lot of great ideas for fundraising events.
The CAO stated that this committee would allow those groups to discuss ideas and forward them to town council for approval.