Enderby salaries revealed

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: June 19, 2013 1:00 AM
Enderby residents can see what they paid towards political activities.  The city has released the schedule of remuneration and expenses for 2012. “The remuneration we receive is fair and appropriate,” said Mayor Howie Cyr. Cyr led the pack with a wage of $15,420 and expenses of $1,003, for a total of $16,423. Total wages and expenses for the councillors were $11,362 for Tundra Baird, $10,489 for Brad Case, $10,356 for Beryl Ludwig, $10,079 for Raquel Knust, $8,891 for Greg McCune and $7,439 for Earl Shipmaker.  Cyr insists there is so much more to the job than just attending council meetings twice a month. “Council puts a lot of time and energy in behind the scenes doing research,  answering calls and responding to e-mails.” In terms of expenses, Cyr says there is a need for council members to travel out of town to represent Enderby’s interests. However, attendance at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention was modified to reduce costs. “Everyone went but at strategic times,” said Cyr. “We cut back on expenses (instead of having everyone there for the entire event), if there wasn’t a need to be there, we weren’t there.” The city has also released financial information related to staff. Barry Gagnon, chief administrative officer, was the only employee to earn more than $75,000 in 2012. He received a salary of $122,190 and expenses of $6,575.  For all employees earning less than $75,000, the collective total was $954,423 for wages and $20,022 for expenses.