Kelowna owes $1.1 million in back pay to RCMP officers

ALISTAIR WATERS Morning Star Mon Sep 18th, 2017 10:10am NEWS

Mounties in Kelowna are about to share a $1.1-million windfall. The city owes that sum in back pay, retroactive to 2014, after the federal treasury board finally approved a 1.25-per-cent increase as of Jan. 1, 2015 and another 1.25-per-cent hike as of Jan. 1, 2016 in April. Kelowna has 170 full-time RCMP officers. The cash will come out of a reserve account the city has been building up since the last federally approved pay rate for RCMP officers across the country expired in 2014. Officials say the retroactive pay hike was anticipated, hence the build up of the reserve account, but it is not part of the city’s current financial plan. Council will be asked to approve the payment and amend the city’s financial plan as such at the next council meeting.