City salaries defended

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star posted Jun 15, 2016 at 1:00 AM— updated Jun 15, 2016 at 5:36 AM
The amount of money being paid out to City of Vernon employees is being defended. The annual report shows that 99 employees earned more than $75,000 in remuneration and expenses in 2015. “The city really watches its budget and to retain staff, we need to compensate them competitively,” said Coun. Dalvir Nahal. For the 99 employees, the gross earnings and remuneration worked out to about $10 million. Leading the pack was chief administrative officer Will Pearce with a salary of $184,497 and expenses of $17,783. Thirty-two individuals at the fire hall earned more than $75,000 in 2015, while there were 24 from operations services. The total for all city employees was $22.7 million in gross earnings and expenses. “I look at other organizations and the payroll they have like the Interior Health Authority and Translink,” said Mayor Akbal Mund. “People need to look at what’s being done. City staff are working very hard.” The 2015 annual report also shows $234,808 was spent on the seven council members. Mund had a salary of $75,801 and expenses of $4,670 followed by $24,857 in wages and $4,818 in expenses for Coun. Juliette Cunningham. Cunningham says most of her expenses are related to attending conferences and information sessions. “Professional development is important. We need as much information as possible to make decisions for the community,” she said. Coun. Scott Anderson had remuneration of $23,645 and expenses of $3,342 while they were, respectively, $22,659 and $4,194 for Coun. Catherine Lord and $22,105 and $411 for Coun. Dalvir Nahal. For Coun. Brian Quiring, he had a salary of $23,958 and expenses of $45 while Coun. Bob Spiers had a salary of $24,281 and expenses of $14. “Councillors get paid too little for the work they do. I’m comfortable with mine,” said Mund.