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August 22, 2020 - 6:30 AM
It seems that, whenever there’s a complaint about something the City of Kelowna does, it’s all Mayor Colin Basran’s fault – whether that’s supportive housing, too much development or a lack of appreciation for heritage.
He does get paid big bucks for the job he does – $107,813 in 2019, a $9,000 increase from the previous year.
But 121 city workers make more, including 50 managers and 70 people working in the fire department, whether they be firefighters or dispatch centre operators.
That information is included in the city’s annual Statement of Financial Information.
It shows that, last year, Basran had expenses of $14,570, about $2,000 more than in 2018.
The city’s eight councillors were each paid $36,893 but their expenses varied widely. Mohini Singh only claimed $262 while all the rest were over $4,000, with rookie Loyal Wooldridge topping the list at $7,690.
The report includes all of the city’s 449 employees who made more than $75,000 last year. That’s about half the workforce.
Most of those, 197, are union members but only eight made more than $100,000 and only one, a fire crew captain at the airport, made more than the mayor.
These are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees who received a two per cent wage increase last year.
There are 132 employees working for the fire department, including 117 firefighters. There are 124 who made more than $75,000 last year.
They received a 2.5 per cent increase in 2019. Their collective agreement has expired.
A rookie firefighter starts at $68,970 a year and moves to $98,523 a year after four years.
There are 128 managers on the list, with City Manager Doug Gilchrist topping all employees at $264,472, an increase of about $43,000 over 2018. He was named city manager about half-way through 2018 so last year was his first full year in the job.
His predecessor, Ron Mattiussi, made $306,550 in his last full year in the job in 2017.
The only other employee to make more than $200,000 was Deputy City Manager Joe Creron at $204,185.
“Individual Management Staff increases are based on performance,” Stuart Leatherdale, the city’s divisional director of corporate and protective services explained in an email. “Increases to Management Salary Bands are determined following a review of similar municipalities, union increases and the Korn Ferry Canadian Broader Public Sector index. For 2019 all Management Salary Bands increased by 2%.”
READ MORE: The Kamloops city staffers who took home the most money last year
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