qathet Regional District directors are considering a 1.1 per cent increase in remuneration and expenses for 2021.
At the December 21, 2020, regional board meeting, directors gave three readings to a remuneration and expense bylaw but did not give a final reading.
City director George Doubt said the bylaw did not need to be fully adopted at the December board meeting.
“I’d like to see the adoption happen after a period of time longer than the four days between the finance committee meeting and the board meeting,” said Doubt. “I’d like to see the actual final approval happen at the January meeting.”
Corporate officer Michelle Jones recommended moving first through third reading at the December board meeting and forwarding it to the January meeting for adoption.
“I’d like to do that to provide more notice to the public and give them an opportunity to have a comment on it before we finally adopt it,” said Doubt.
At the December 16 finance committee meeting, directors considered a recommendation that it recommend the board approve a 1.1 per cent increase to directors’ remuneration for 2021, and that the committee recommend the board include $10,000 in the 2021 budget for a comprehensive review of the directors’ remuneration package.
The finance committee voted to recommend to the board the 1.1 per cent increase.
Regarding the second motion, Doubt, the committee chair, said looking at the cost of the last change regional directors had to remuneration, he thinks the total cost to the regional district was about $1,700 for the raises in a year. He said he was not sure how efficacious it is to spend $10,000 on a study of directors’ remuneration.
City director CaroleAnn Leishman said she thought it was a bit odd to be spending $10,000. She said it’s in the board’s policy, she believes, where every four years, before an election year, the regional district is supposed to perform the review.
Manager of financial services Linda Greenan said the policy states that every four years, one year prior to the local government election, the board will assess the need for a comprehensive review of directors’ remuneration, so it isn’t necessary to be done; it’s at the board’s discretion.
Electoral Area C director Clay Brander said he would be voting against the recommendation for the $10,000 review.
“It seems to me we went through a pretty extensive review last time and I don’t see the point in spending $10,000 more on it,” added Brander.
Electoral Area E director Andrew Fall said the regional district did a thorough job last time, and he’s comfortable with where the board is at.
“It’s not needed, especially in the current situation,” said Fall. “Putting this off for four more years doesn’t cause any harm from my point of view.”
Doubt said he didn’t think there is a need to do the assessment. He said it would be money poorly spent to do an assessment that is unnecessary at the present time.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he thinks it was earlier this year that the board adopted a new director remuneration and expense formula after an extensive consultation and hard work from the staff.
“I don’t see the need to increase the burden on taxpayers by $10,000 to do something, which, I think we’ve already taken care of earlier this year,” said Gisborne.
The committee voted unanimously against the $10,000 expenditure for a study of directors’ remuneration and expenses.
Under the remuneration and expense bylaw, the director base remuneration would be $15,726, which goes to all regional directors from the city and electoral areas. The electoral area directors would receive a premium of $5,804 and the board chair would receive a premium of $14,584.
