(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
June 24, 2021 - 6:00 PM
The amount of money paid to City of Kelowna employees climbed 2.1 per cent from 2019 to 2020.
That moved the total payroll to $79.6 million, according to the Statement of Financial Information report going to city council on Monday, June 28.
“This increase can be attributed to an average of two per cent in wage and salary increases with the remainder the result of increased staffing to ensure continued service levels to a growing city,” states the report from corporate finance manager Shelly Little.
The annual statement is required by the province and must list the wages of all employees who earned more than $75,000 each year.
Topping that list was city manager Doug Gilchrist at $289,128. That’s an increase of $24,656 over his 2019 earnings, a 9.3 per cent increase.
His deputy, Joe Creron, earned $206,891 last year, a 1.3 per cent increase.
Third on the earnings list was Kelowna airport manager Sam Samaddar at $187,290, a drop of 1.9 per cent from 2019.
Altogether, there were 489 employees who made more than $75,000, up from 449 in 2019. The city employees about 1,000 people.
Of those who earned more than $75,000, the largest portion, 211, were members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. There were also 147 managers and 124 firefighters.
Wages are also listed for politicians.
Mayor Colin Basran got a 2.3 per cent increase to $110,244 while city councillors got a 4.65 per cent increase to $38,609.
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