Council may have revoked the honorariums for the Vernon Land Committee but the members of the former corporation may still be paid for their services.The committee will be submitting a new budget to city council today which includes a $30,000 line item for “fees for service.” Under the new budget, fees will be paid to members of the board at a rate of $85 per hour.Coun. Pat Cochrane said he supports the idea that
the volunteers on the land committee are compensated for their work. He said if they were simply an advisory committee they should not receive a stipend.“The intent is that they have a completely different mandate than any other committee in the city,” said Cochrane. “If the mandate is maintained than the honorariums should stay.”According to the new terms of reference that were submitted with the budget, the fees for service will cover additional work done outside the committee’s monthly meetings. The document states that although the members of the committee are volunteers they should be paid for their extra work because of their expertise in land and business matters.
the volunteers on the land committee are compensated for their work. He said if they were simply an advisory committee they should not receive a stipend.“The intent is that they have a completely different mandate than any other committee in the city,” said Cochrane. “If the mandate is maintained than the honorariums should stay.”According to the new terms of reference that were submitted with the budget, the fees for service will cover additional work done outside the committee’s monthly meetings. The document states that although the members of the committee are volunteers they should be paid for their extra work because of their expertise in land and business matters.The main issue, said Coun. Barry Beardsell, is that all of the city’s
volunteers need to be treated fairly. He said citizens volunteer to contribute to the well-being of the community and not to be paid.“If everything is going to come down to payment for service we might just as well hire additional employees,” said Beardsell. “At least then they will fully accountable to council at the end of the day.”Beardsell said he is not aware of any other committee within the city that is paid for their extra work.
volunteers need to be treated fairly. He said citizens volunteer to contribute to the well-being of the community and not to be paid.“If everything is going to come down to payment for service we might just as well hire additional employees,” said Beardsell. “At least then they will fully accountable to council at the end of the day.”Beardsell said he is not aware of any other committee within the city that is paid for their extra work.The land committee is also planning to hire a project consultant at a cost of $40,000 per year. The total expenses for the committee is $189,000 and includes $30,000 in preliminary project costs, $25,000 in environmental reports, $24,000 in support services from the City of Vernon and other expenses.Under the new terms of reference, members of the committee will be appointed to two year terms. According to the terms of reference, the mandate of the committee deal with land matters for the city. The committee’s guiding principles include basing their decisions on economic benefits, social benefits, environmental benefits, development opportunities, job creation and financial gain.
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