Council Pay Increase Approved

Peter McIntyre Monday, 14 September 2009 18:04 107.5 KISSFM

Vernon city council members will be getting paid more---at least the ones doing extra work. Council voted 4-3 to go ahead with paying members 137 dollars for every meeting they attend that is a committee of council. Previously they weren't paid for those.

Councillor Buffy Baumbrough--who attends 65 meetings a year---- says the amount is the same as what NORD and Coldstream pay their reps. "I think this is fair. I don't think it's excessive and it provides councillors with some compensation for the extra time they're putting in."

Councillor Shawn Lee voted against it, saying he would have liked more information on the committee workload."We could reduce the number of meetings a year. We could reduce the workload without really reducing the effectiveness of those committees and the input they have for council which is a real benefit. I wouldn't want to do away with them, but I think we need to look at that." Councillors Bob Spiers and Patrick Nicol also voted against the change.

Mayor Wayne Lippert supported it, although he says it's always difficult for elected officials to look at any kind of increase for their salaries. "You need to be able to look at some ways to justify it with the taxpayers who are paying the bill, but at the same time, it is a paid position and they need to be paid for their time because probably for many of them, it ends up being less than minimum wage." Lippert says the change will add an extra 30-thousand dollars a year in council pay.

Members will still receive the same base pay of $20, 250 for councillors, and $62,775 for the mayor.

Council unanimously approved a motion to pay council members attending meetings on behalf of council to receive 51 cents per kilometer, and to amend the travel and expense policy by increasing the courtesy accommodation reimbursement from $25 to $30 per diem, and the addition of a $20 per diem to cover incidental expenses.