Vernon's mayor will see a pay increase
next year. Council has approved a 28-hundred dollar hike to just over
66-thousand a year. Council won't see an increase in annual remuneration
for a number of years however they have bumped up committee pay. It
means a councillor can take home 160-dollars for each committee meeting
attended. Councillor Bob Spiers doesn't like it. ``I've always been
against committee pay,'' says Spiers who, along with Patrick Nicol,
voted no. Although councillors could also get a whopping 320-dollars for
full-day meetings Spiers says he has never seen one that length at the
local level.
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Mayor's Pay Hike Approved
Vernon's mayor will get a 28-hundred dollar a year raise, starting next year. That was one of four recommendations made by a citizens committee that council approved. It gives the mayor a four percent hike, to 66-thousand-266 dollars. Current mayor Wayne Lippert feels that increase is justified. He tells KISS FM, "For all the time the mayor puts in, at least what
I've put in, I would say yes. There's no other benefits that go along
with that, and it is a full time job. It's takes into consideration the
time it impacts your family." There will be no increase in 2013 and then an 8.2 percent jump in
2014 for the compounded sum of the Consumer Price Index for the years
2010 to 2013. Councillors --who make about 20-thousand in base pay---won't get more
for two years, but will see an 8.2 percent bump in 2014 to catch up
to inflation. Councillor Bob Spiers didn't like the idea of such a big jump in one year. "I felt that the existing formula that's been developed over the
years of cost of living increase each year, was more than adequate." The committee felt putting off inflation increases until 2014 would
allow the city to better handle difficult economic conditions. However, council will be able to revisit the policy and rates in future years if they choose. While councillors base pay will be frozen for two years, those that
attend committee meetings will see their pay go up 23 dollars, to $160
per meeting, an increase of 16 percent. The citizens committee was chaired by Coldstream businessman and
former councillor Jack Borden, while Pat Lett, Joanne Weatherill, and
Bob McDonell were other members.
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Mayor's Pay Hike Approved
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