Kelowna city council, standing, left to right: Luke Stack, Mohini Singh, Mayor Tom Dyas, Maxine De Hart, Charlie Hodge. Sitting, left to right, Ron Cannan, Loyal Wooldridge, Gord Lovegrove, Rick Webber.
Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna
March 20, 2024 - 3:28 PM
Elected officials in Kelowna have fallen behind most of their peers in similar sized cities so their staff are recommending they give themselves a big raise this year.
If council agrees at its Monday, March 25, meeting, the mayor could get almost $19,000 more per year while city councillors will get a raise of more than $15,000.
It total, that will amount to $139,414 per year, a report going to council says.
“Setting an appropriate remuneration amount should reflect the council member time commitment, employment and financial impacts of being an elected official, the complexity and the responsibilities that come with being in office,” the report says.
“Low remuneration should not be a barrier to attracting candidates to run for office, nor so high as to negate the concept of public service that motivates individuals to run for office in the first place.”
Since Jan. 1, 2014, the mayor’s salary increases have been tied to the Consumer Price Index for Vancouver, which has caused his pay to fall “significantly” behind mayors in cities of similar size to Kelowna, the report says.
A 2022 City of Kelowna study found the mayor’s salary amongst the lowest of similar and smaller sized cities. A more recent City of Victoria study of 12 BC cities found Kelowna was the second lowest, just ahead of Kamloops.
City councillor pay was set in 2014 at 35% of the mayor’s salary.
Staff is recommending the mayor’s salary go to the 60th percentile of what mayors in similar sized cities get, based on the Victoria study. That’s the same formula the city uses for setting its management wages.
If approved, that will raise Mayor Tom Dyas’ annual salary to $145,200, up from $126,497.
The report also recommends councillor pay go to 40% of what the mayor gets. That will put it to $58,080 from its current $42,991.
If approved, the change will take effect as soon as the bylaw is amended. The extra money will come from savings made through the city’s “digital transformation strategy,” the report says.
There's no mention in the report of how future pay rates will be calculated.
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