By the numbers

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - June 17, 2008

It's that time of the year when all municipalities and regional districts are mandated to publish annual reports. Unless you are a bean counter, the documents are pretty dry reading. But deep within these reports is some information that should make everyone take notice, and that is the schedule of remuneration for both elected officials and civic employees. It allows you to see exactly what bureaucrats are being paid, and how much politicians are pocketing while representing your interests. But perhaps the most interesting aspect is to look at jurisdictions and to see how neighbours compare. Here are some of the highlights of the 2007 annual reports:

• The City of Vernon paid out $13.8 million in wages, $56,850 in allowances and $153,941 in expenses to 248 full and 50 part-time employees, while the North Okanagan Regional District had $4.9 million in wages and $173,446 in expenses for 86 full and 304 part-time staff.
• Vernon had two employees make more than $100,000, while NORD had six (including severance for former administrator Barry Gagnon). It should be pointed out that Coldstream — which is significantly smaller than Vernon and NORD — had two staff that earned more than $100,000 in 2007.
• In Vernon, chief administrative officer Leon Gous had a salary of $124,368, allowances of $4,528 and expenses of $8,119, for a total of $137,015. Over at NORD, administrator Brian Reardon had a salary of $153,681 and expenses of $11,141, for a total of $164,822.
• Wayne Lippert, mayor of Vernon's 35,944 people, wracked up $3,653 in expenses in 2007, about half of the $6,720 in expenses for Coun. Glen Taylor and Coun. Mary Malerby, $6,705, both from Coldstream (population 9,471). Expenses for NORD are a little more complicated because some directors not only represent their individual constituency, but attend meetings on behalf of the district as a whole. Leading the pack in 2007 was $6,989 for Herman Halvorson, director for rural Enderby (population 4,091).
• It is interesting to note that in Vernon, all four council members elected in 2005 (Lippert, Buffy Baumbrough, Juliette Cunningham and Jack Gilroy) filed for expenses while the three longtime councillors (Barry Beardsell, Pat Cochrane and Patrick Nicol) didn't submit for any expenditures.

Obviously figures can be interpreted any way you want, but some questions arise. How is it that two councillors from a community the size of Coldstream can have double the expenses of the mayor of the much-larger Vernon? If these two councillors are attending conferences, are these trips resulting in policy changes or increased government funding in Coldstream? Why didn't the city's four veteran councillors have any expenses? Are they not attending conferences, which are often a good source of information on critical issues, whether it is affordable housing, poverty or new infrastructure? Are the four newbies too vigorous about heading out of town?

Is there a reason why NORD's senior administrators are paid significantly more than those just a few miles away at Vernon city hall? And while the administrative sector requires wages of a certain level if you want to attract and retain skilled individuals, is there a problem with such high salaries when many residents — who pay the bill through taxes — are struggling to put food on the table or are being handed pink slips? I don't have the answers to these questions, and am loath to make assumptions without having all of the facts in front of me, but it's amazing what you can find in an annual report.