Election perk nipped in bud

WEDNESDAY, 02 APRIL 2014 02:00 RON SEYMOUR Kelowna Daily Courier
Civic staff who supervise this fall's municipal election in Lake Country won't get extra time off for doing so. Town policy had been to give each of the two employees who oversee voting day an extra two days of vacation. But town council was expected last night to rescind the policy.  "We just consider that being involved with the election is something that's already really part of their job description," Mayor James Baker said earlier Tuesday. Municipal staff who serve as the chief and deputy returning officers on voting day, which this year falls on Nov. 15, already get time off in compensation for the extra work. Providing them with an additional two days of vacation as well struck council as simply overly generous, Baker said. "It's sort of like double dipping," he said. Okanagan municipalities adopt a divergent approach to compensating staff involved in municipal elections. In Vernon, the city employee who serves as chief election officer can choose between a bonus of $1,600 or taking five days of extra vacation. They also get served free lunches and dinners on voting day. In Penticton, the bureaucrat who assumes the role of chief election officer for the municipal vote gets four extra days of vacation in an election year. But neither Kelowna nor West Kelowna give staff who serve as chief election officer or deputy returning officer any extra money or vacation time. They don't give them any free food on voting day, either. In addition to full-time municipal staff who oversee voting day operations, each city also hires a number of citizens to work at the polling stations. Armstrong pays its election staff $19 an hour, while the rate of pay is $17 an hour in Summerland and $12 an hour in Osoyoos.