City workers’ wages rise to deal with flooding

Flood-Àghting efforts earned city workers in West Kelowna an extra $380,000 in salary last year.

FireÀghters, mechanics and even some inside staff were pressed into extra duties to help the municipality cope with record high levels of Okanagan Lake and creek Áooding.

Assistant Àre chief Darren Lee earned an extra $40,000, assistant chief Brent Watson was paid an extra $25,000, Àre chief Jason Brolund earned an extra $24,000, and city administrator Jim ZafÀno's salary was topped up by $21,000.

All additional payments to city employees working under the command of the Central Okanagan emergency operations centre were covered by the provincial government, rather than local taxpayers.

In total, 67 of West Kelowna's received payments in addition to their regular salaries for their Áood-Àghting efforts. Planning manager Nancy Henderson drew an extra $13,000.

"In the early stages of the Áood response, it was literally all hands on deck," ZafÀno told West Kelowna city council last August in a report on how much staff time was consumed by dealing with the high waters.

"We had engineering technicians and administration staff assisting with sandbag building," ZafÀno said.

The state of emergency lasted 99 days. The anticipated completion date of about 45 city projects was pushed back because of time lost to Áood-related issues.

With the top-up from the provincial government, ZafÀno's total compensation last year crossed the $200,000 mark for the Àrst time. His compensation was $214,000, considerably above the $187,000 he was paid in 2016.

Second-highest-paid last year was Brolund at $172,000 ($147,000); third highest was Henderson at $163,000 ($150,000).

By provincial law, all B.C. municipalities must publish by the end of each June the names and salaries of employees who made more than $75,000 the previous year.

In West Kelowna, 86 of the municipality's employees made more than $75,000 last year. Twenty-six were in management, 34 were ÀreÀghters, and 26 were unionized staff.

Their collective salary costs were $9.8 million, up from $8.5 million in 2016. Total salaries for those earning under the $75,000 disclosure mark were $6.5 million, so total remuneration costs for all employees of the municipality were $16.1 million.

Mayor Doug Findlater earned $65,800, about $800 more than the previous year, while the Àve councillors were each paid $22,350. Onethird of council salaries have been tax free, but the tax free portion will be eliminated in January under new federal rules.

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Salaries at the Central Okanagan regional district were mostly level last year, but the total wage bill still climbed 2.2 per cent.

The increase in overall remuneration was due mainly to extra payments to workers responding to last year's Áooding emergency.

Top earner once again was top administrator Brian Reardon, whose compensation was $192,000, only $2,000 more than he earned in 2016.

The second-highest paid employee was Ànance director Marilyn Rilkoff, at $168,000, also $2,000 more than she was paid a year earlier.

Parks director Murray Kopp made $140,000, economic development chief Corie GrifÀths made $139,000, and corporate manager Mary Jane Drouin made $117,000.

Thirty-two regional staff made more than $75,000, the threshold for public disclosure, compared to 30 in 2016.

Total remuneration for all staff last year was $8.4 million, or 2.2 per cent more than in 2016.

The difference was made up mostly by the $160,000 in extra payments to staff by the provincial government for their work dealing with creek and lake Áooding last spring.

"If the emergency overtime is removed, the increase is less than one per cent, at one-third of one per cent, or $25,693," reads part of a staff report reviewed by regional directors at last night's meeting.

Board chairwoman Gail Given, a Kelowna city councillor, was paid $41,000, one-third of which was tax free. That was in addition to her City of Kelowna salary of $33,000, one-third of which was also tax free.

The regional district provides some common services throughout the Central Okanagan, such as dog control, garbage and recycling, and park management.

————— Peachland's top managers have averaged a pay raise of 11 per cent over the past two years, newly-released salary information shows.

Top earner in 2017 was town manager Elsie Lemke, whose remuneration was $154,000, up from $147,000 last year.

Joe Mitchell, operations director, was paid $122,000 last year, up from $108,000 in 2016.

The next four highest-paid managers were Àre chief Dennis Craig ($120,000), Ànance director Doug Pryde ($110,000), planning director Corine Gain ($109,000), and corporate services director Polly Palmer ($105,0000).

Total town salaries for all employees last year $2.9 million, up from $2.6 million in 2016.

Peachland Mayor Cindy Fortin was paid $34,000, one-third of which was tax free according to federal rules that will be eliminated next year.

Peachland councillors were paid just over $14,000 each.