Photo: Contributed

Future Vernon councillors and mayors will be paid more.  

The current sitting council supported the recommendations of an independent third party committee to increase the base salaries of councillors and the mayor in yearly increments over the next four years based on population. 

Starting November 1, the sitting mayor's base rate will increase at $1.90 per capita, and then $2.20 per capita effective Nov. 1, 2019; $2.31 per capita effective Nov. 1, 2020; $2.44 per capita effective Nov. 1, 2021.

Also, effective Nov.1, the base rate for a city councillor will go from 34 per cent of the mayor's salary to 37 per cent.

Further, on Jan. 1, 2019 the sitting mayor and council will receive and 11 per cent increase to offset a federal policy change to eliminate the non-taxable portion of local government elected officials compensation.

The Council Remuneration Committee was comprised of three members: 

• Glen Benischek, CEO VantageOne Credit Union
• Wee Yee, President Vernon & Area 2017 55+ BC Games Society
• Rob Sawatzky, former City of Vernon Mayor

The committee brought forward 10 recommendations. Vernon council voted to support all of them. 

"Our conclusion is that the responsibilities of Mayor and Council are significant, complex, and compensation programs should reflect that," stated the committee in its written submission to council. 

"We determined that it is in the best interests of our community to adopt a policy that encourages and enables the broadest possible pool of citizens to engage in serving their community. The Committee is aware that compensation can play a role for community members in their decision to commit the time and effort to serve in local government leadership roles. We need to increase compensation to more closely resemble
that which would be typical of remuneration for similar levels of responsibility in the private sector, or other levels of government, if we want to enable that broader pool of the public to consider service in local government.

The decision to form the three-member committee was made in Jan, 2018.  

It was noted that the total mayor and council compensation package, will comprise less than 00.35 per cent of the budgets they oversee.

The next municipal election will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018.