Some North Okanagan Regional District directors are in line for a wage
hike. On Wednesday, the board will receive a recommendation from the finance committee that the base salary for the eight municipal directors climb from $1,495 a year to $6,000. That would bring them in line with the five electoral area directors. “Everyone should be paid the same for the same job,” said Eric Foster, a member of the finance committee and a director from Lumby. The argument for‑paying municipal directors less has been that they also get compensation from their city, but Coldstream director Gary Corner dismisses that theory. “You have to separate the two,” said Corner, who is also on the finance committee. “One is for work in your own municipality and anyone on the regional district board is paid for that. They are two different jobs.” While he is the mayor of Lumby, Foster insists that he serves the region while at NORD. “There’s reading and I field one or two calls a day just for the regional district,” he said. No opposition for the increase is coming from the electoral area directors. “Matching compensation is fair,” said Rick Fairbairn, rural Lumby director and a finance committee member. The matter of remuneration first went before the NORD board in March. At the time, all board members agreed that everyone should receive the same base pay. It was up to the finance committee to determine what the level would be. On top of base pay, directors receive stipends for committee meetings they attend. Jerry Oglow, NORD chairman, is waiting to see what debate develops Wednesday. “There needs to be some equity in how we remunerate all of our directors,” he said.
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