Local gov’t earnings top $17.8 million

By Scott NeufeldFriday, June 23, 2006, 12:01 AM http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_299.php

The final bill for the cost of local government has come in.Last year, it cost taxpayers $17.8 million to pay the wages of staff and remunerate local politicians for the Regional District of the North Okanagan, Coldstream and Vernon. The figure was reached by combining the wages and expenses of local government employees as well as the earnings and expenses of politicians from the three government bodies.Vernon councillor and Greater Vernon Services commissioner Barry Beardsell said the cost of local government placed on the taxpayer is out of control. He said he is particularly concerned about the $408,232.08 in expenses that staff at the three government bodies racked up last year.“I think it’s absolutely atrocious, the poor taxpayer,” he said.The biggest spenders were regional district staff who passed more than $206,000 in expenses on to the taxpayer. Beardsell said that some of the expenditures need to be explained.“One of the things is they are going to have to be accountable,” he said.Slightly more than $3 million of the $17.8 million was paid to the 32 government employees who earn more than $75,000 per year. Beardsell said it is these top salaries that are driving the high cost of governing.“A lot of it is duplication of services when you’ve got three different divisions,” he said. “I think it’s the high-end salaries that bring about so much of it.”According to the financial reports the price tag for three finance managers is $264,755.01, the cost for three city engineering chiefs is $259,877.41 and the cost for four chief administrative officers (including Ron Campbell’s severance) is $560,561.33. Those numbers don’t include several thousand dollars in expenses that each employee charged.Beardsell said he went to Victoria to speak with the provincial government and tell them that Vernon is over-governed. He said he’s still waiting for a reply.“It’s almost as if Victoria is saying they don’t want to deal with it,” he said. Out of the $17.8 million total, $458,038.22 went to pay local politicians and reimburse them for their expenses. Former Vernon mayor Sean Harvey had the highest earnings of any local politician taking in $34,888.63, not including expenses. Electoral Area C director and regional district chairman Stan Field was a close second, earning $32,430.12. In third was former Coldstream mayor Brian Postill who totaled $28,563.36.After former mayor Sean Harvey, who according to the city spent $12,384, the local politician with the highest expenditures was Coldstream councillor Glen Taylor who spent $7,197.59. Field was third highest at $4,655.68.