Banff Council Votes to Boost Town Employee Pay Above Market Midpoint

Banff council has voted to aim slightly above the midpoint of comparable wages when setting municipal employee pay, a decision expected to cost about $205,000 more than simply bringing Town pay back to its existing goal.

Council voted 5-2 July 14 to raise its wage-setting target from the 50th percentile to the 55th percentile. Councillors David Fullerton and Brian Standish opposed the move.

The decision followed a 2026 review that found Banff had fallen behind even its existing goal of paying around the middle of comparable municipalities. Administration estimates it will cost roughly $750,000, including wages and benefits, just to catch up.

Moving to the higher level chosen by council is expected to bring the total cost to about $955,000, roughly $205,000 more. The figures are preliminary and will be refined during upcoming budget deliberations. Any effect on property taxes has not yet been determined.

The review, conducted by P Walters Consulting Ltd., compared Banff’s wages with those paid by 14 municipalities, including Canmore and Jasper, as well as six local and other public- and private-sector employers.

It found Town wages had slipped slightly below the midpoint among comparable municipalities. However, they remained above the levels found among the smaller group of local and other employers.

Affordability remains a persistent issue in Banff, where recent municipal reporting has indicated roughly a quarter of local income earners are at the low-income threshold. While Town employees cannot be directly compared with Banff’s workforce as a whole, council has chosen to aim above the midpoint of the market it uses to set municipal wages.

In technical terms, the Town previously aimed for the 50th percentile, or the midpoint of comparable wages. Council has now chosen the 55th percentile, slightly above that midpoint.

That does not mean every Town employee will receive a five-per-cent raise. How much wages change will depend on the position and how its current pay compares with similar jobs elsewhere.

“That doesn’t necessarily translate to a 5% increase,” human resources director Barbara King told council. “It is a data marker that identifies the extent to which 50% of our comparators pay more or pay less, or whether 45% pay more or pay less.”

Fullerton, who initially proposed keeping the Town’s existing pay goal, said he supported competitive wages and agreed the Town needed to catch up. But he argued council should do that first before committing to a higher target.

“To catch us up to the 50th percentile, we’re already going to have to absorb a massive $750,000 budgetary impact,” he said.

Fullerton also questioned whether the higher target was necessary to address difficulties recruiting and keeping employees. He argued the Town should first see whether catching up to its existing goal helps solve those problems.

He suggested the Town catch up, review its wages again sooner and then decide whether it needs to aim higher. He also warned the additional spending could put further pressure on the 2027 budget.

Coun. Barb Pelham amended Fullerton’s motion to move the Town’s pay goal from the 50th to the 55th percentile. She argued the higher target would help Banff recruit and keep workers in an expensive community where several municipal departments have struggled with staffing.

“We have been chronically short-staffed in specific departments, including mechanics, the finance team, water services, the fire department and planning,” Pelham said. “It’s integral that we build a team that will carry us into the future.”

Pelham also pointed to the length of time between Banff’s detailed wage reviews. The Town generally conducts one comprehensive review each council term, or about every four years, while some municipalities review their wages more frequently.

“A lot of other municipalities do it on a two-year cycle and we’re stuck on a four-year cycle,” she said. “That’s on us collectively.”

King said other employers used in Banff’s wage comparisons had reviewed and increased their pay while Banff went several years between comprehensive reviews, contributing to the Town falling behind.

Administration expects to more closely track changes in wages elsewhere as part of its 2027 financial planning. Council also discussed conducting detailed pay reviews more frequently in the future.

The idea of paying above the midpoint is not new. In 2022, council directed administration to explore gradually moving wages toward the 55th percentile over five years, and the latest review examined what it would cost to pay at both levels.

Standish opposed moving above the midpoint, arguing the Town has other ways to support employees and warning that adopting a higher pay goal could be difficult to reverse.

“If we accept this 55th percentile, we’re on a slippery slope,” he said. “There’s no going back.”

Employees who are already paid more than the adjusted range for their position will not have their wages cut. Instead, their pay may stay where it is until wages for similar positions catch up.

Council approved Pelham’s amendment to move to the 55th percentile by a 5-2 vote, with Mayor Corrie DiManno and councillors Michelle Backhouse, Barb Pelham, Marc Ledwidge and Kaylee Ram in favour. Fullerton and Standish opposed.

Administration will return with changes to the Town’s employee pay policy reflecting council’s decision. The precise cost of implementing the wage adjustments will be determined through upcoming budget deliberations.