Rural directors could get a 15% salary hike depending on how the 26 board members vote on Nov. 23, 2023.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Thompson Nicola Regional District
November 23, 2023 - 1:20 PM
Thompson Nicola Regional District elected officials are planning to vote whether or not they should get both a one-time salary hike and a retroactive raise.
The board meets today, Nov. 23, where they'll consider both raises separately.
On Nov. 7, the ten electoral area directors suggested they get a raise that would place them within the average salaries of regional districts across the province, according to a staff report. If approved, it would give them a 15 per cent raise and eight per cent for municipal directors for 2024.
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It would be a one-time salary hike, then all future raises would be capped at 4% unless they vote otherwise, according to the staff report.
Rural directors earn $25,256 per year now, while municipal directors earn $15,135 on top of their mayor and councillor salaries. The provincial average is $30,206 and $17,000, respectively.
The other bump in pay is a four per cent retroactive raise, going back to Jan. 1. It's slightly below a nearly seven per cent increase in the BC consumer price index last year, but it's meant to react to the increased cost of living since 2022.
Staff noted in the report there was mixed response from directors so far, with some in favour of the policy to simply follow the consumer price index and others who felt it was too high. Staff noted the previous board didn't give itself a raise in 2021, a decision that came as the regional district was overshadowed by a spending scandal centred around its former top employee.
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In 2022, directors changed their tune and, with eight dissenting votes, gave themselves a pay bump again.
Staff found that increase wasn't enough to cover inflation, resulting in the upcoming Nov. 23 vote.
The backpay would cost taxpayers a total $21,578 for all directors, while the 2024 salary hike would cost $65,258.
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