West Kelowna mayor cuts cheque

Daily Courier Staff 2010-02-11

Poll Results

Question: Did West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater do the right thing by giving back the raise he was granted by council last week? Yes 1132 No 285 Total Votes: 1417

Thanks, but no thanks. In rare move by a politician, West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater has turned down a raise. The first-time mayor refunded almost $2,800 to the municipality, which is the equivalent of the raise he was to receive in 2010. In 2009, the mayor‘s position was worth $58,090, but council decided a raise was in order, so the wage was boosted to $60,853, a jump of 4.5 per cent, which Findlater said is “pretty unheard of in these times.” “I thought the whole thing was out of sync with the rest of council,” he said. City councillors received a .75 per cent wage hike. Findlater stepped out of council chamber during the debate over his wages, citing a conflict of interest. The size of the raise was arrived at by municipal staff who compared West Kelowna to similar municipalities to determine the mayor‘s wage. Findlater said he asked the raise not be introduced, but because it was approved by council, it went ahead anyway. So, Findlater wrote a cheque to the municipality for the amount of the raise so he could give the money “back to the taxpayer.”
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Wayne Moore - Feb 10, 2010 / 10:15 am CASTANET: Findlater gives raise back to the people
West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater is giving back his raise. Findlater has written the municipality a cheque for $2,762.37, the amount of a yearly raise approved by council earlier this month. The mayor excused himself from deliberations, saying he felt uncomfortable in taking part in the process. "How would it have been viewed if I did take part," says Findlater. Council approved the 4.75% mayor's salary increase along with a much smaller .75% increase for each of the six councillors. He says he tried to turn down the increase, but found it was not that simple.

"I have to take the raise because it was a motion of council," added Findlater. "The only thing I could do was give the money back. A 4.75% increase is not right in these times." Findlater says he will be issued a charitable tax receipt and will take a small tax hit as a result of the payback, but believes the money should go back to the people. The raise for both mayor and council was part of a yearly process in which salaries of elected officials in six predetermined communities are calculated. The top two and bottom two are thrown out and the middle two added together and divided by two to determine the median salary. This median salary is brought before council each year for discussion. The mayor says he thinks something needs to be added to the policy, what that is, he is not sure. Findlater says the Regional District and City of Kelowna strike a citizens' committee to look at political remuneration, however, they use a similar process in determining salaries.