High salaries for Coaldale managers defy reason

COALDALE – Serious concerns about the Town of Coaldale’s financial management are being raised by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

“During bargaining for a new collective agreement, the union has found out that town management has far more out-of-scope workers on big salaries than normal for a municipality of this size,” says AUPE Vice-President Curtis Jackson.

The Town of Coaldale has 26 managers and out-of-scope employees, compared to 43 permanent regular front-line workers who belong to AUPE.  

In comparison, the City of Lethbridge has 29 out-of-scope staff and 900 permanent workers. The Special Areas Board (which administers part of southeastern Alberta including the communities of Consort, Empress, Hanna, Oyen, Veteran, and Youngstown) has 14 out-of-scope staff and 115 front-line workers.

Last year, the Town of Coaldale paid out-of-scope staff an average of $122,221 per year for a total of nearly $3 million. It paid regular, front-line workers an average of $54,095, less than half as much.  

“The people of Coaldale deserve to know why management has so many highly paid out-of-scope staff while paying its front-line staff so little, despite them providing essential services to the community,” says Jackson.

The town prepared a Comparative Analysis in 2024 to show how it performs compared to eight similar municipalities in Alberta (Blackfalds, Drumheller, Edson, Innisfail, Lethbridge, Lethbridge County, Ponoka and Taber).  

It reveals that compensation for Coaldale Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Kalen Hastings last year was $244,324, more than $30,000 higher than Taber.

“Coaldale spent $737 per capita on salaries, wages and benefits, the lowest of the group and a full 36% below the average, but had a surplus of more than $14 million last year and has more than $157 million in reserve,” says Jackson.

“It seems Hastings is determined to have a confrontation with front-line workers, even though their pay levels are so low, but isn’t giving the council all the facts. Meeting the workers’ demands would cost the town less than $100,000 more per year in total.”

Jackson adds: “It defies reason and logic to put vital services at risk for so little, especially when the town spends so much money on out-of-scope workers with little justification.”

AUPE will host a community-information event from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, at the corner of 20th Avenue and 13th Street. Coaldale residents are welcome to come, get a bite to eat, ask questions and get answers.

-30-

Curtis Jackson is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact Terry Inigo-Jones, Communications Officer, at t.inigo-jones@aupe.org.