'Totally opposed" to $6,000 each

Scott Neufeld http://www.dailycourier.ca/
The Vernon Land Corporation has submitted a budget proposal for next year and at least one city councillor is concerned about the payouts being given to the board’s directors.The budget sets aside $30,000 in honorariums to the board’s five citizen directors meaning that each member will pocket $6,000. Coun. Barry Beardsell said he’s “totally opposed” to having the members of any city-appointed committee receive remuneration.“I don’t like it; I don’t know what the background is of it,” he said. “Either people want to volunteer or they don’t.”Land corporation director Pat Lett, said that the board’s directors have been receiving an honorarium since it began operating in 2004. He said that if he charged the city for all of the time he puts in, the figure would be far higher than $6,000.“It does take a lot of time,” he said. “If I billed my time . . . I would do very well.”The seven member board administers the land corporation which is considered an independent body that buys and sells land for the city. Two of the directors are full-time city employees who do not receive honorariums.Beardsell said he doesn’t see why only one city committee receives an honorarium. He said that some long-standing committees such as the Advisory Planning Board, would be as deserving as the Land Corporation of some remuneration. “The city now has more committees than at any time since I’ve been there,” he said. “If we start doing this with one committee we’ll have to do that with all of them.”Lett said the board meets once a month, but also spends a lot of time negotiating with developers and going out into the field to look at land. He said they are also expected to take on special projects for city council.“I consider it a donation to the city in helping the community progress,” he said.There are a number of other concerns with the land corporation’s $194,000 budget for next year Beardsell said. He said it’s unclear how exactly the corporation plans to spend the rest of its proposed budget.Expenditures other than honorariums include $40,000 for a consultant, $30,000 for preliminary projects, $25,000 for environmental reports and $20,000 in fees.

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