Metro work boosts politicians’ earnings
Review urged after large stipends collected by mayors and councillors
West Vancouver’s mayor is calling for a review of the annual stipends paid to the mayors and councillors who sit on Metro Vancouver’s board of directors, after a total of $840,019 in compensation was doled out in 2015.
Mayor Mike Smith, who earned an extra $11,129 and $130 in expenses as a Metro director last year, said he was astounded at some of the large sums collected by other mayors and councillors, who are paid for heading various committees such as garbage, parks and utilities, as well as for attending meetings and conferences, some of them overseas.
Besides the $840,019 paid out in base salaries, which amounts to a slight increase of 1.3 per cent over 2014, directors received a total of $87,740 in expenses for the year, according to a remuneration report from Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver chairman Greg Moore, for instance, who is also mayor of Port Coquitlam, collected an extra $71,858, and $13,497 in expenses, as Metro chairman, in addition to the $88,024 he earned as mayor.
“We need to look at this whole idea of directors’ fees and travel expenses and whether we should let directors lead the charge in being cost-effective,” Smith said during a Metro meeting Wednesday.
Smith also questioned why the region was paying councillors — who are not officially appointed by their city councils to be directors on the board — a stipend to attend the two-hour council-of-council meetings, which are held three times a year and include a full breakfast.
Metro directors are paid $359 for every board and committee meeting they attend, or double that if it’s over four hours. The money paid out by Metro is in addition to the salaries the directors receive from their individual councils.
“It’s unnecessary,” Smith said of the council-of-council meetings. “Do we need this council of councils? Is that a boondoggle?”
But Moore says the council-of-councils meetings are a valuable way to keep all councillors informed of the region’s business. He noted Metro had previously reduced a number of committees to become more efficient, and the council-of-council meetings are only held three times a year.
“We find them really valuable to ensure all members of councils are engaged and understand what we’re doing,” he said.
Moore also defended the increase in Metro remuneration, saying it had only risen slightly and was based on changes in politicians’ salaries around the region. His stipend as chairman, for instance, is based on the median salary of all Metro mayors.