WESTLOCK – Westlock County Div. 6 rep Stuart Fox-Robinson hasn’t accepted a paycheque since winning his seat on council in the October 2021 municipal election, saying his foray into local politics was about “making positive change at the county” and “never about the money.”
And his stance appears to be history making as reps for the province’s municipal lobbying organizations have no record of any politician refusing their pay, while one CAO with 40-plus years of experience says he can only recall “a few cases over the years” but never one first-hand.
Fox-Robinson has been reticent about discussing his refusal to accept compensation for his council work although he did admit “it’s probably unusual” and said he’s been concerned about the possible fallout on his family and knows he’s walking a fine line with other councillors and even staff as it was never his intention to “offend anyone.”
Simply, Fox-Robinson said he and his wife both have decent jobs and his foray into politics was about “seeing changes made” and not collecting an extra cheque. Out of a budget of $53,092 for the Div. 6 seat, only $718 has been used up to Oct. 31, while $260,468 has been spent for all of council.
“I speak my mind and I speak from the heart, and I wanted to see change, other people wanted to see change and I was asked to run, so it’s as simple as that. I’m not trying to offend anyone, or other councillors and I don’t have a concern with what the others are being paid for their work,” he said Nov. 28. “Those who are really putting the effort in and want change are working very hard and putting in a lot of hours.”
Fox-Robinson, whose day job is CEO of the Wild Rose REA, said he’s thought about trying to donate the money back to the municipality and has have even floated the idea of setting up a trust or bursary for his county earnings, which could then be used for a local cause.
“But to be honest, it’s been kind of on the backburner. I know the options that are available from my side, it’s just up to what the municipality will do,” said Fox-Robinson. “I really hope to be able to hit this in the new year with (CAO) Tony (Kulbisky) on what we can do and what can’t we do.”
As for what municipal councillors should be paid, Fox-Robinson could make an argument to have the position as volunteer only with no pay attached, or conversely, up the pay five-fold which would lead to “a dramatic change” in the calibre of the candidates.
“But I don’t have all of the answers,” he added.
How rare?
For perspective on Fox-Robinson’s refusal to accept a paycheque, the Westlock News reached out to a handful of current and former CAOs, Municipal Affairs and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) and Alberta Municipalities, the two lobbying associations that represent all of the province’s cities, towns, counties and villages.
Municipal Affairs press secretary Kayla Gamroth, noting the Municipal Government Act doesn’t force councillors to accept their pay, said the department doesn’t track that stat so couldn’t provide any figures, while RMA communications and marketing manager Brandon Low polled his office and didn’t believe they track that information and recommended reaching out to municipalities directly.
Alberta Municipalities communication manager Scott Lundy said he spoke with the organization’s senior policy and government relations people and “no one at Alberta Municipalities could recall an instance in which a local elected official refused to accept their paycheque.”
Meanwhile, former Westlock County CAO Edward LeBlanc, two-time interim CAO Pat Vincent, as well as current county CAO Tony Kulbisky, who have more than 80 years of combined municipal government experience, all said they’ve never come across a similar situation. Vincent, whose CAO career started in 1981 and includes a pair of interim CAO stints at Westlock County, said via e-mail “there have been a few cases over the years that I am aware of” but he had never witnessed it firsthand until his recent six-month tenure here.
