2017 Annual Report draft

https://www.vernon.ca/sites/default/files/docs/financial/annual_reports/2017_annual_report_draft.pdf

At Monday's council meeting the draft annual report will be approved:
THAT Council receive and approve the 2017 Annual Report for the City of Vernon as attached to the Internal Memorandum of the same title, dated May 31, 2018 and respectfully submitted by the Director of Financial Services; AND FURTHER, that Council scheduled a Public Meeting to receive submissions and questions from the public concerning the 2017 Annual Report on Monday, June 25, 2018 at 5:00 pm in Council Chambers.

RDNO SOFI to be approved Wednesday May 6

https://rdno.civicweb.net/document/92721/180606_RPT_BoD_SOFI_Memo_FULL.pdf?handle=E674720681344F64BD6152DC86468A2C

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GVAC Political Salaries 2017:

Vernon Mayor Suggests Pay Hike For Council

Vernon, BC, Canada / 1075 Beach Radio Vernon Pete McIntyre May 31, 2018 06:23 am
If you ask the mayor, he says yes. Akbal Mund was responding to concerns from cities like Kelowna, about Ottawa ending the one-third tax exemption that civic politicians get in January. Mund if you want quality people to run for council, you have to pay them adequately. “You’re going to have a tough time attracting people in a few years here, because everything is changing, and people are going to start going, ‘Why would I do that (run for/be on council)?” Mund told Beach Radio News. To make up for the tax change, Kelowna council has increased its councillor’s pay by three thousand dollars, and the mayor’s by over 11-thousand. Vernon councillors have a base pay around 24-thousand dollars a year, while the mayor was paid 72-thousand dollars last year. “People sometimes have it in their mind that we get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe because (they compare it to what they are paid) in bigger communities like Vancouver,” says Mund. A committee — which includes former mayor Rob Sawatzky — is looking into council’s remuneration, and will report back to the city later this year.
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Beach Radio Poll results as at 6:30 AM:

Do you think Vernon council members should be paid more in order to attract more candidates?

•  
  Yes (12)
•  
  No (54)

Voting ends: Jun. 1, 2018 @ 7:00 AM

++++++++++++

Vernon SOFI to be approved at Monday's Council meeting.

In accordance with the requirements of the Financial Information Act, the City must annually
submit to the Province a Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) upon approval by Council.
P.65 of Council Agenda Package: https://www.vernon.ca/sites/default/files/docs/meetings/agendas/180528_regular_agenda_pkg_rev_0.pdf
• Council Remuneration & Expenses
• Employee Remuneration & Expenses
• Payments to Vendors
• Statement of Severance Agreements & Statement of Guarantees
• Grant Payments to Organizations

Coldstream Financial Statements and 2017 SOFI

https://coldstream.civicweb.net/FileStorage/4BBE26144B5A4277AD20A605A12F4E4A-2017%20SOFI.pdf

Wages down, benefits up KELOWNA

By Wayne Moore -CASTANET Jun 23, 2017 / 5:00 am |
One fewer pay period had a significant affect on the City of Kelowna's wage structure in 2016. The city paid out less in wages but more in benefits in 2016, compared to the year previous. Figures released by the city Thursday show city hall paid out $67.665 million in wages this past year. That's more than $600,000 less than 2015. A big reason for that discrepancy – one fewer pay period than the year previous. However, the city still paid out $9.422 million in employee benefits, nearly $2.5 million more than the year previous. As part of its annual payroll report, the city is required to list all employees, management, CUPE and firefighters, who earn more than $75,000. In 2016, that number totaled 356, compared with 368 in 2015. City manager Ron Mattiussi drew the largest annual paycheque, $268,301, nearly $20,000 less than in 2015.
The balance of the top five include:
Ron Westlake - senior project manager, $173,830
Sam Samaddar - airport manager, $172,265
Joe Creron - civic operations director, $165,403
Rob Mayne - corporate and protective services director, $162,892
A total of 48 management staff earned more than $100,000, down from 50 the previous year, while only 67 firefighters crossed the six-figure threshold. That number was 105 in 2015 due to a two-year retroactive payment as part of a new contract settlement.Only one CUPE member, an airport firefighter, earned more than $100,000.
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Employee Renumeration at p.297-302  https://kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=7710

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City of Kelowna's Annual report (82 pages)

Vernon's Reconciliation Figures 2015 & 2016

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Coldstream:
Total Council & Employee Remuneration $ 3,107,016
Wages and benefits  P.48 Annual Report    2,832,000

Lumby Financials Look Good For 2016

Vernon, BC, Canada / 1075 KISS FM Tom Mark June 20, 2017 11:50 am

Lumby has released its financial report for 2016.It shows the village has done well, coming in with a smaller debt.
Mayor Kevin Acton says when it comes to debt ratio, there’s less than 260 dollars per capita of debt.Acton says they’re always looking for ways to save money while improving productivity. “Instead of hiring a contractor like an engineering firm to oversee some of the work that’s happened in Lumby last year, one of the big projects, is we actually hired an engineer as an employee to oversee some of the works on a part time basis.” That meant the village saved money by paying an engineer’s hourly rate instead of a firm’s rate and made an engineer available to the public works department for six months. Acton says the village will look at doing more of that in the future. When it comes to salaries, the budget was hit a bit. But Kevin Action says that was due to an even t beyond they’re control, creating an extra pay period. ” That happens about every 11 years or so it seems. It accounts for almost a 20 per cent bump in the budget.”Total remuneration and expenses for staff came in at almost 1.3 million dollars. Then highest paid employee is Chief Administrative Officer Tom Kadla with pay and expenses totaling 141 thousand 59 dollars and 19 cents. Acton’s salary was just under 14 thousand dollars, while his expenses came in at 12 thousand 274 dollars and 16 cents. Much of that was to attend the UBCM and SILGA conventions. He says having the opportunity to meet other elected representatives pays off. “Just sitting around the table and you’re talking about water works with somebody from Grand Forks and all of a sudden they say oh yeah we did this and it really can make a huge savings to the community to find out what’s been working and what hasn’t been working. You know the old don’t reinvent the wheel or don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.” Total council salary and expenses came in at 77 thousand, 118 dollars and 69 cents. The report also shows what looks to be a surplus. But Acton says some of that money moving forward are grants that need to be paid for work that was done.

Armstrong Financials Online For Perusal

Vernon, BC, Canada / 1075 KISS FM Tom Mark June 14, 2017 06:43 am
Armstrong`s Mayor is inviting the public to review the city`s financial report online. The report presented to council Monday night outlines costs of the city and salaries of council members and staff. Mayor Chris Pieper thinks the community is getting good value for money spent. “I think it shows that in both our remuneration of councillors and the expenses of councillors.“ Total councillor expenses were just over 11 thousand dollars for 2016. Mayor Pieper says as far as staff goes, the city is in line with other communities its size. He says they have a small staff but they`re busy. “They do a little bit of everything. We have in our finance department, we have one and a half people. In public works, it`s pretty lean.“ As far as staff salaries go, they come in at just one one million dollars. The highest paid is Chief Administrative Officer Melinda Stickney at 127 thousand 617 dollars. Overall, the Mayor thinks Armstrong is strong. “Well, I think our community is doing pretty good. We try our best to keep taxes affordable in our community as well as our services.“ The full 49 page report is on the city`s website

GVAC Political Salaries 2016. (4 year Comparison 2013-2016)

Don Quixote Note: This is a compilation of the SOFI data from the Coldstream Annual Report (2016 Annual Report - PDF), the Vernon Annual Report (2016 Draft Annual Report - 28.7 MB) and the agenda package from the RDNO. There is a Total Remuneration (which excludes expenses) added. It is simply the addition of the Municipal Remuneration (Col. 1) & the Nord Remuneration (Col. 4). In 2011 these 2 columns totalled $399,139.54 In 2012 the total increased $45.113.48 to $444,253.02. (11.3% increase). In 2013 the total increased to 446,972.39 (.6%) In 2014 the the total Remuneration decreased to $419,616.41 (-6.12%). In 2015 the total remuneration increased to $456,626.77 (8.8% increase). In 2016 the total remuneration decreased to $450,601.53 (-1.4%)

(Coldstream Coun. Kiss who gets committee pay for his GVAC services was not listed on the 2015  or  2016 report so y/y comparison may be skewed)

2015 GVAC Political Salaries  & Expenses

2014  GVAC Political Salaries  & Expenses Revised June 26/2015

2013 GVAC Political Salaries  & Expenses

2016 SOFI to be approved next Wednesday at RDNO

https://rdno.civicweb.net/document/74171/170607_RPT_SOFI_2016_FULL.pdf?handle=F4683D4A26A6409D88357F3C1E6C74B4
https://rdno.civicweb.net/document/74308 P118-127

The SOFI (Statement of Financial Interests for 2016 for the RDNO is now available at the above Link. This SOFI will be accepted and approved at the next RDNO Meeting on Wednesday June 7.


Schedule 1 - Statement of Financial Information Approval
Schedule 2 - Schedule of Guarantee and Indemnity Agreements
Schedule 3 - Schedule of Elected Officials Remuneration and Expenses (see Below)
Schedule 4 - Schedule of Employee Remuneration & Expenses (see Below)
Schedule 5 - Schedule of Severance Agreements
Schedule 6 - Schedule of Payments Made for the Provision of Goods or Services

Schedule 3 - Schedule of Elected Officials Remuneration and Expenses

Schedule 4 - Schedule of Employee Remuneration & Expenses

The Approved 2015 SOFI Can be found at http://www.rdno.ca/docs/160615_SOFI_approved.pdf
to compare and contrast.

Pay hike looming for new politicians

By Morning Star RICHARD ROLKE Wed May 24th, 2017 6:15am
Political pay is climbing in Coldstream but not any time soon. Council voted Tuesday to hike remuneration to $13,500 for councillors and $30,000 for the mayor as of Jan. 1, 2019. “It won’t come in during our term but during the next term,” said Mayor Jim Garlick. Currently, the mayor receives $29,570 and councillors receive $11,721. There is also meeting pay. The last council remuneration review was in 2010, and since then, rates were increased annually based on the consumer price index. The decision to hike salaries followed a look at what politicians are paid in several other similar-sized communities. However, there was some debate about whether the increase should be higher as the federal government may remove the one-third tax exemption from local officials. In the end, though, council opted not to react to the possible federal policy. “If there are going to be changes, we can address them when they come along,” said Coun. Richard Enns.
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http://www.collinsbarrow.com/en/cbn/publications/2017-federal-budget-commentary
Allowance for Members of Legislative Assemblies and Certain Municipal Officers
The reimbursement of expenses incurred in the course of carrying out the duties of an office or employment is generally not a taxable benefit to the recipient. By contrast, a non-accountable allowance for which an individual does not have to provide details or submit receipts to justify amounts paid is generally a taxable benefit.

Certain officials may receive non-accountable allowances for work expenses that are not included in computing income for tax purposes. These officials are:

elected members of provincial and territorial legislative assemblies and officers of incorporated municipalities;
elected officers of municipal utilities boards, commissions, corporations or similar bodies; and
members of public or separate school boards or of similar bodies governing a school district.
The excluded amount is limited to half of the official’s salary or other remuneration received in that capacity during the year.

Budget 2017 proposes to require that non-accountable allowances paid to these officials be included in income. The reimbursement of employment expenses will remain a non-taxable benefit to the recipient.

In order to provide affected organizations more time to adjust their compensation schemes, this measure will apply to the 2019 and subsequent taxation years.
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http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf

Coldstream mayor and CAO top spenders

By JENNIFER SMITH Morning Star Thu Apr 13th, 2017 2:00pm
Coldstream’s top dogs are also the top paid. Remuneration and expense numbers for 2016 show Mayor Jim Garlick was paid $33,093, which included $2,338 in expenses. “My costs are for UBCM including transportation to Victoria and meeting pay for RDNO board meetings,” said Garlick.

This compares to the following payroll list for his colleagues on council: Gyula Kiss $15,144 and zero expenses

Peter McClean $14,354 and $1,650 in expenses
Doug Dirk $12,905 and zero expenses
Richard Enns $12,773 and $725 in expenses
Glen Taylor $12,510 and $2,058 in expenses
Pat Cochrane $11,720 and zero expenses

“Apparently I am underpaid,” laughed Cochrane. Council pay differs depending on the number of extra meetings they attend. For example, as an alternate on the Greater Vernon Advisory Council, Kiss gets paid by Coldstream for attending meetings. “I attended most of the GVAC meetings which accounts for my extra pay,” said Kiss. Although he earned more, Kiss had no expenses, which he attributes to not attending any conventions such as the Southern Interior Local Government Association and Union of B.C. Municipalities. “As for expenses or lack of: I did not go to conventions, thus, I didn’t need expenses,” said Kiss. “Ironically, I didn’t get paid for all the work I did with my work with the water plan.” Whereas Taylor attended SILGA and was booked to attend UBCM, which accounts for him having the highest expenses among council.

On the staff payroll, Chief Administrative Officer Trevor Seibel earned at least $36,000 more than anyone else on staff, and his expenses were more than three times Garlick’s.

The top paid staff members were:

Trevor Seibel, CAO, $141,371 and $7,377 in expenses
Patrician Higgins, director of financial administration, $109,011 and $3,132 in expenses
Michael Reiley, director of development services, $109,010 and $1,677 in expenses
Michael Baker, director of infrastructure services, $103,315 and $2,812 in expenses
Bob Bibby, building official, $101,268 and $2,431 in expenses

“My expenses include the costs associated with professional development, training and travel/accommodation,” said Seibel, noting that unlike most other staff he also attends UBCM. “One anomaly from 2016 is additional training as a result of the Playbook Implementation. In additional to the increased training requirements of the firefighters, there was a Fire Service Administration course that I attended, with the Fire Chiefs, in 2016.”
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2016 Coldstream SOFI Report:

$1.25 Million For Salaries in Spall

Posted on 7/13/2016 6:15 AM by Ron Manz 107.5 KISSFM
The Township of Spallumcheen's annual report was tabled last (Monday) night. It showed a total of $104,721 was paid out to the mayor and council for salaries and expenses, but the overall cost for council and all employees was just under $1.25 million. Mayor Janice Brown topped the list with $19,672 in wages and $7,099 in expenses...but that will go up this year after council voted to increase the mayor's wage to $24,000 and councillors to $12,000 earlier this year. "We just needed to be comparible with the communities around us and we every time we talked about it we felt there were more important things to do, and then we found out we were lagging behind, so it was recommended we bring ourselves up to the normal." Brown says tying their raises to the cost of living was leaving them far behind. "We have a hard working council and they spend a lot of time and we felt they should at least be in parity with everybody they were working with and meeting with." Brown topped the list this in wages and expenses, but other councillors pay varied. "We did bring in the policy if you miss more than three meetings you get docked for your meetings. So, if work committments take you out of town, you do not get paid for the meeting if you've been away for more than three meetings in a year." Brown says attendance has substantially increased at meetings since. Joe Van Tienhovan topped the councillors with $15,004 in wages and expenses. Only three employees earned over $75,000..with CAO Cory Paiement topping out at $119,038.

City of Kamloops payroll rises by $6 million in 2015

By: Andrea Klassen in Kamloops This Week- Municipal Government, News July 1, 2016
A pay raise for city council increased Mayor Peter Milobar’s salary by about $11,000 in 2015. The city’s annual statement of financial information shows the mayor made $99,483 last year, compared to $88,534 in 2014, due to a change in how council pay is calculated brought in last term. Under the new rules, Milobar’s pay is calculated by taking the average paid in 14 B.C. communities, including Kelowna, Delta and Prince George, once the highest and lowest salaries are removed. If the mayor’s current pay is less than 90 per cent of that average, his wage is increased by two times the Consumer Price Index for Vancouver. Councillors were paid 35 per cent of Milobar’s wage in 2015, bringing them to just over $30,000 each for the year. That amount will increase to 40 per cent by 2017 — about $39,800 if calculated using 2015’s mayoral wage. Payouts to city staff rose by $6 million last year, to $60.6 million. Of the city’s 1,087 staff, 293 made more than $75,000 in 2015, up from 256 the year before. Of that group, 172 made more than $100,000, up from 82 the year before. Finance director Kathy Humphrey said the rise in employees making more than $75,000 — the point at which individual city salaries become public record — is due to an additional payday in last year’s calendar. Our first payday of the year was January 2 and the last was actually December 31, so people were paid for more than 26 pay periods. It just happened to be 27,” she said. “Their salary didn’t go up, nothing changed. It’s very likely they won’t be on the list next year.” Humphrey said the payday added about four per cent to most employees’ salaries. About 30 city employees made it onto this year’s public salary list for the first time due to the payday, and Humphrey said many of them will likely fall off again in 2016, which has fewer paydays. Twenty-four employees also crested the $100,000 mark due to the calendar quirk. As has been the case in previous years, Kamloops Fire Rescue staff and management had more employees on the list than any other division. Of KFR’s 134 employees, 117 made more than $100,000 and another five made more than $75,000. The number of firefighters making more than $100,000 is up dramatically from last year, when it was 48. Humphrey said the change is due to retroactive payouts for 2012, 2013 and 2014, the contracts for which were settled after the fact. In cases where firefighters worked full-time, Humphrey said retroactive pay increased salaries for the year by up to 20 per cent.
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Details for Council renumeration and Employee Rebunemeration  at:
https://kamloops.civicweb.net/document/49964/Report_full_SOFI.pdf?handle=4FCE2516FC7846E2BC90A918D0AF2D6F

New contract tips pay scale

by Wayne Moore -CASTANET Jun 30, 2016 / 5:00 am
The City of West Kelowna saw staff and management wages increase 12 per cent in 2015, compared with the previous year. While on the surface that seems exorbitant, much of that increase was eaten up by more than two years of retroactive pay to firefighters in the city. West Kelowna firefighters, members of the International Association of Firefighters, inked a new six-year contract in February of 2015. That deal called for a 2.5 per cent wage increase for the years 2013 through 2018. Because of the retroactive pay and overtime accrued throughout 2015, some firefighters saw their paycheque increase dramatically, in one instance, by as much as 70 per cent. In fact, 31 members of the West Kelowna Fire Department earned a gross salary above the $111,000 taken home by Fire Chief Jason Brolund. Brolund was on the job less than 11 months after taking over for outgoing chief Wayne Schnitzler in February of 2015. In all, 78 West Kelowna employees earned more than the $75,000 reporting threshold, 12 more than in 2014. Those 12 were for new positions, including one additional position in management, two firefighters, and nine union positions. According to the city, the union positions include some position reclassifications as well as some significant overtime requirements to maintain service levels. West Kelowna CAO Jim Zaffino remains the highest paid employee, pulling in just shy of $200,000 annually, an increase of less than four per cent over 2014. In all, West Kelowna paid out $14.965 million in wages, bonuses, taxable benefits and expenses.
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http://bc-westkelowna.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/2823?fileID=10520

Hefty hikes for bureaucrats

by Wayne Moore - CASTANET Jun 29, 2016 / 3:50 pm
Senior bureaucrats within the Regional District of Central Okanagan saw their gross pay rise between six and 14 per cent last year while overall wages jumped less than five per cent. Figures are part of the RDCO's annual financial statement, which must be made public by the end of June each year. According to the report, the district paid out $8.585 million in wages in 2015, a 4.5 per cent increase over the $8.216 million the year previous. However, senior staff received increases far greater than the average. Fire and inspection services manager Dan Wildeman saw the largest year-over-year increase at 14 per cent. Wildeman's salary went from $104,486 in 2014 to $118,521 last year. Chief administrative officer Brian Reardon, the highest paid senior employee at $197,110, saw his wage increase by 12 per cent.

Other senior staff increases include:

Christopher Radford – $162,926, plus 10 per cent
Murray Kopp – $138,285, plus seven per cent
Marilyn Rilkoff – $171,515, plus six per cent
In all, 35 RDCO employees earned greater than $75,000 in 2015.

Including benefits, and other employer payments, the RDCO paid out $9.999 million to, or for, employees in 2015. The 11-member regional board brought home nearly $230,000. For nine of those, that wage is on top of their remuneration from other council's in the Central Okanagan. Chairwoman Gail Given received a remuneration package of $40,661, which is on top of the $33,500 she takes home as a Kelowna city councillor.
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http://www.regionaldistrict.com/media/205252/2015_Financial_Disclosure_Schedules.pdf

IH execs rake in $1.5M

By Wayne Moore - CASTANETJun 28, 2016 / 4:54 pm 
Interior Health paid out wages and benefits to six executives in the amount of $1.5 million for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. The health authority's fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.Figures were obtained from the yearly financial report the health authority is required to make public.

According to figures, Interior Health CEO, Robert Halpenny earned $410,000. That included a base salary of $315,000, along with bonuses, benefits and pension contributions of $95,000. Halpenny stepped down as CEO, effective Oct. 26, 2015. Interior Health has an overall budget of close to $2 billion. Of that, $917.9 million went to wages. That was compared with wages amounting to $896.1 million in 2014 and $848.1 in 2013. The document is similar to one produced by municipalities each year. It takes 65 pages to document each employee earning $75,000 or more.

Other executive salaries, including benefits:

Jeremy Etherington, VP Medicine & Quality - $339,248
Andrew Neuner, VP Community Integration - $294,248
Donna Lommer, VP Residential & CFO - $286,278
John Johnston, VP People and Clinical - $290,111
Wendy Hansson, VP Community Integration - $34,099
In all, 3,400 Interior Health employees earn $75,000 or more.
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(included Some Doctors Salaries )
Financial Information Act
Schedule of Suppliers of Goods or Services
For the Year Ending March 31, 2015

Regional district directors defend wages

by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star posted Jun 19, 2016 at 8:00 AM
There’s a cost to the public’s business, according to regional politicians. Just over $300,000 was spent on remuneration and expenses for all Regional District of North Okanagan directors and alternate directors in 2015. “We’re paid based on the meetings we attend,” said Rick Fairbairn, chairperson. “We have an obligation to attend meetings to represent the board and the public.” Leading the pack was Fairbairn, rural Lumby director, who had a salary of $42,368 and expenses of $13,915. “As chairperson, I spend almost every working day at the regional district office,” said Fairbairn. Cherryville director Hank Cameron had a salary of $23,552 and he points out that a portion of it was taxable. “My T-4 showed $15,800,” he said. Cameron’s expenses were $8,067 and they were from attending provincial and regional conventions. “They are a valuable opportunity to talk to cabinet ministers and discuss important issues,” he said.

Remuneration for the other board members in 2015 was:
Kevin Acton - $13,496 (expenses $992)
Janice Brown - $11,066 (expenses $139)
Juliette Cunningham - $15,615 (expenses $118)
Doug Dirk - $12,683 (expenses $287)
Bob Fleming - $24,296 (expenses $4,440)
Shirley Fowler - $11,213 (expenses $623)
Herman Halvorson - $22,523 (expenses $8,113)
Catherine Lord - $11,360 (expenses $8)
Mike Macnabb - $24,153 (expenses $3,496)
Greg McCune - $12,095 (expenses $1,010)
Akbal Mund - $15,120 (expenses $12)
Brian Quiring - $10,478 (no expenses)

The 2015 report shows that 31 RDNO employees earned more than $75,000. At the top of the list was chief administrative officer David Sewell with remuneration of $166,703 and expenses of $18,314. Second was Leah Mellott, electoral area services general manager, with remuneration of $142,845 and expenses of $6,331. “Staff are paid the going rate and we have excellent staff,” said Fairbairn. All employees at the regional district were paid out $5.9 million in salaries and $462,101 in expenses.
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Full Details at:
http://www.rdno.ca/docs/160615_SOFI_approved.pdf
https://rdno.civicweb.net/document/9830

12. 2015 Statement of Financial Information
 Staff report dated June 8, 2016
RECOMMENDATION 14 Page 306 - 314
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The SOFI Report for Schedule of Elected Official & Committee Member Remuneration and Expenses on page 309 was changed for this 2015 report to exclude Elected Officials and other Committee Members (Such as Water Rep on GVAC) who are non Directors (Or alternate Directors) even though they receive committee pay of $147/meeting (2015) $150 -2016) and received a T-4 each year.  This explains why Coun. KISS (http://coldstreamernews.blogspot.ca/2016/06/which-politicians-salaries-are-listed.html reports that he made $2150 on his RDNO T-4) but is no longer on this list.

An Overview of the Board's Remuneration Schedule for 2016 can be found at http://vernonblog.blogspot.ca/2016/06/rdno-takes-break.html
The 2015 schedule would be all figures 1.9% less. (ep.: Committee pay $147/meeting in 2015)

Lucrative salary year for Kelowna firefighters

By Blaine Gaffney Reporter Global News
KELOWNA – The City of Kelowna calls it an unusual salary spike. Local fire fighters could call it a cash windfall. Most people working at the Kelowna Fire Department made more than $100,000 last year, including 105 of the 125 unionized firefighters. The city says retroactive pay negotiated in a seven year labour contract that provides 2.5 per cent wage increases annually from 2012 to 2017 accounts for the salary spike. “There’s not a ton of opportunities for us to challenge that,” says human resources divisional director Stu Leatherdale. “We can go to arbitration but the pattern shows that’s been the award around the province.” The local union president makes no excuses for provincial wage parity. “It’s no different here than in Vancouver or Surrey or Victoria,” says Dennis Miller. “Fire is fire and you need fire fighters to control it. The job is the same.” And the KFD chief isn’t making any excuses for the fire fighter base salary of $90,000 a year. “From my perspective, and I think the majority of the public, is that is an appropriate amount for the work we do, the risk fire fighters are subjected to and the working conditions,” says Jeff Carlyle. While Kelowna fire fighters are getting annual wage increases of 2.5 per cent other unionized staff and management are getting about 1.8 per cent.

For a full list of Kelowna city employees who were paid more than $75,000 in 2015, click here.

Armstrong Salaries Held at COL Hike -- ARMSTRONG 2015 SOFI online

Posted on 6/17/2016 7:53 AM by Ron Manz 107.5 KISSFM
The City of Armstrong's 2015 annual report is now public and it shows that council and staff salaries totaled roughly $1.1 million dollars. It works out to a 1.5% cost of living increase across the board for everyone. Mayor Chris Pieper topped the politicians earning just under $26-thousand dollars with councillors Lance McGregor and Linda Werner each getting $16,000. Staff salaries accounted for $950 thousand dollars....Pieper saying it's hard to compare that to other city's their size. "We have joint functions with Spallumcheen so some of our costs for operating in the fire department and parks and rec, it wuld be really difficult to compare us to any place else because of the uniquness on different funding we have." Pieper feels the pay scale is very reasonable in the current economic climate. "We have a small staff and we have a small public works, so our overall taxes are very affordable compared to some communities."Chief Administrative Officer Melinda Stickney topped the staff pay scale at $137-thousand with Chief Financial Officer Terry Martens earning $105 thousand.
====================
https://armstrong.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/30662?preview=84738
http://vernonblog.blogspot.ca/2015/06/armstrong-2014-sofi-online.html