At the final public City of Morden Council meeting of 2023, Morden City Council passed a 3% cost of living allowance (COLA) wage increase for city staff employees.
While Mayor Nancy Penner was in election mode and not part of council when this decision was made, she explained the rationale behind the decision.
"Picking that number, of course, we don't just sort of draw a number out of a hat. In 2023, our Cost-of-Living Increase was set at 4.5%. So, we are looking at a slight decrease for 2024. We know labor shortages drive an increase in market wages, so Morden is not an independent labor market. We have to look at how we compare with our neighbouring municipalities and the whole Pembina Valley."
She went on to describe other considerations made when making this decision.
"Picking that COLA number, we look at our historic cost of living increases compared to Manitoba's Consumer Price Index. We look at a number of factors. The Bank of Canada is currently forecasting that inflation will stay hopefully around that 3.5% until the middle of 2024. Hopefully returning to target numbers in 2025, so the Bank of Canada has held its interest rates, which is encouraging. I think when we saw the bump in interest rates, it brought inflation down and that was their target was, with the increase in interest rates, to slow the economy. I think they met their target."
When council approved the 3% going into 2024, it was with all these considerations, according to Penner, who noted, the discussions took place before the by-election was held.
"It's a modest increase for our staff. We realize the cost of living is out there. The food security is a big one. The cost of food is increasing. We look at everything. Gas prices over the next six months will drop slightly with the NDP dropping the gas tax on gas fuel costs, we're seeing that at the pumps already. We realize we need to support our staff with cost-of-living increases, their costs that do increase."
During Penner's discussion looking into 2024, she recognized the challenges facing people going into this year.
"I don't know how larger families are doing it, making ends meet, and if you have a mortgage, and if you have three or four children, and you're trying to keep them in runners and keep them in sports and keep them active in the community, it's a challenge for parents, and if you're single income, but if you're double income, and you have problems with daycare spaces, it's a challenge."
As Penner settles into the role of mayor going into budget season, first orders of business are capital project discussions along with meetings with community organizations who look for funding from the city.