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Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
April 04, 2024 - 3:31 PM
Kelowna’s mayor and councillors already voted themselves a massive increase in pay, but there’s more money likely to come their way.
On Monday, April 8 they’re being asked to vote on future raises every two years.
Gone would be the city’s policy to adjust salary for council with the Consumer Price Index for inflation. Instead, city staff will continue to ensure the mayor’s salary is in the 60th percentile for mayors of similar sized cities. That means if any city in the comparison raises salaries, Kelowna’s will go with it.
Councillors will always receive 40% of the mayor’s salary, which is $134,848, but will rise to $145,200 Jan. 1, 2025. That puts councillor part-time salaries at $50,535 until Jan. 1 2025 when it rises to $58,080.
That does not include extended health and benefits, which were added for councillors in 2024, under the justification that councillors earn less. That costs the city more than $5,000 per councillor or $46,000 per year. Councillors appointed to the Central Okanagan Regional District get an additional $21,810 per year.
After elections in 2026, the city plan is to adjust salaries in year one, then again in year three of each new term.
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