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Coun. Shila Sharps wants the city to take its time and release salary ranges when it's ready. (Kevin Kyle/CHAT News)

Medicine Hat waits on releasing salary disclosure list until after review

Dec 20, 2023 | 10:49 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The city wants to make sure its house is in order before disclosing general salary information, a move it could make in the spring.

City council debated a motion from Coun. Andy McGrogan during its Monday meeting proposing the city align with its municipal peers in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer by releasing salary ranges.

Councillors were generally supportive of the effort but pushed a decision back to the spring to give more time for it’s new human resources manager time to sort out the salary information before it goes public.

Many of the positions at city hall and emergency services are already public through union contracts.

Councillor Shila Sharps, who often advocates for more transparency, said she wants the city to take the time to make sure they do this right.

“There’s a lot to come into an employer this size and try to fix everything so I want to give her the opportunity to get her head wrapped around it, make sure it’s alright,” Sharps told CHAT News following the meeting.

“But if we do transparency on it right now and it’s not even right, I don’t understand what the point of that is.”

City council asked staff to prepare a report looking into the pros and cons of releasing general salary information.

That will come back to council at the end of March and council could make a final decision in the spring.