City pays $1,400 for going-away party

Posted: Sunday, March 29, 2015 4:20 pm JOE FRIES Penticton Herald
Taxpayers dished out $1,400 for an invite-only party to say goodbye to Penticton’s former city manager. The cost and guest list for the Feb. 12 reception for Annette Antoniak at the Vault restaurant at the South Okanagan Events Centre were outlined in documents released to the Herald through a freedom of information request. However, details of exactly what was served were not provided, since the invoice from facility manager Global Spectrum states only that the total cost of food and beverages was $1,406.69. Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said the two-hour soiree offered guests “light dinner options,” such as appetizers and dessert trays, plus a selection of beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. He noted such events are “not a typical thing,” but, “I think it’s important we thank our most important staff member for the years of service they’ve given the city and that they’ve helped improve the city with.” Antoniak ended her 4.5-year tenure with the city on Feb. 16 to take a job as head of the Regional Recreation Corporation of Wood Buffalo in Fort McMurray. The search for her replacement, estimated to cost upwards of $40,000, is already underway, and Jakubeit said the party was also a goodwill gesture offered in the hope that Antoniak will be a resource for her successor. “The new (city manager) will have to phone her from time to time and say, ‘Where’s this file, or what did you do about this or that?,’” explained Jakubeit. The director of the B.C. branch of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said $1,400 isn’t a lot of money relative to the city’s overall budget, but is a significant amount nonetheless. “What that means is somebody in Penticton worked all year, paid their property taxes, and saw every cent of it go towards this party,” said Jordan Bateman. “And when you weigh it out like that, you really have to take a step back and wonder if it’s the best thing they could have done. Especially a community that has worked so hard to control costs in the recent past.” A guest list for the party provided to the Herald lists 41 people, including the seven current members of city council, 21 current and former city staffers, fire chief Wayne Williams and RCMP Supt. Kevin Hewco. Other notable invitees included Global Spectrum general manager Dean Clarke, Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger, Valley First president Paulette Rennie, Penticton MLA Dan Ashton and lawyer Tyrone Duerr. Jakubeit said the guest list was created by a city staffer with input from Antoniak. According to the FOI request, her final paycheque did not include any payouts for sick days, unused vacation time or severance. Antoniak collected a salary of $167,719 and booked expenses totalling $12,156.14 in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available.