City's 2021 financial report shows $66M paid to staff, $431K to council

The City of Kamloops paid its staff a total of $66.6 million in 2021 — six per cent more than 2020, with the city saying the increase was largely due to easing pandemic restrictions.

Jenifer McCarthy, the city’s accounting supervisor, presented the 2021 Statement of Financial Information to council at its meeting on June 28.

McCarthy told council the increase — which amounts to about $4 million — appears to be high, but because of 2020’s pandemic restrictions, many city services were closed or reduced.

As restrictions eased, recreation and Kamloops Fire Rescue operations were expended, resulting in a higher labour cost.

“Comparison of pre-pandemic wages in 2019 and 2021 show a 3 per cent increase between the two years. This increase is what is expected in a normal year,” McCarthy said.

According to the SOFI report, city management received about $12 million in remuneration in 2021 — which includes regular wages, overtime, vehicle allowances, taxable benefits and other payouts. This represented an eight per cent increase from 11.4 million in 2020.

Kamloops Fire Rescue and International Association of Fire Fighters management received about $15 million — up 5.8 per cent from 2020. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) staff and program instructors received $39 million.

According to the SOFI report, the city uses a formula to establish the mayor’s remuneration as a percentage based on similar municipalities, while remuneration for councillors is set as a percentage of the mayor’s.

According to the report, the total income for Mayor Ken Christian was $115,668 in 2021, while most councillors made $41,707. Coun. Sadie Hunter’s total income was $40,152.

In total, council’s remuneration was slightly more than $431,000 in 2021.

The report shows the total amount expensed by mayor and council in 2021 was $1,676 — $1,523 was expensed by Coun. Arjun Singh, and Coun. Mike O’Reilly expensed $152. The other seven council members submitted no expenses.

When taking into account council remunerations from other, similar-sized cities, Kamloops’ mayor and council are paid similarly, if not slightly lower.

The City of Nanaimo — with a population of about 100,000, according to the federal government’s 2021 census — paid its mayor nearly $116,000 in 2021, and just under $45,000 per councillor, according to Nanaimo’s 2021 SOFI report.

Nanaimo’s report indicates that the total amount expensed for a nine-person council was $15,277 in 2021, with councillor expenses ranging from $716 to $2,572.

The City of Chilliwack, with a population of about 93,000 as of the 2021 census, paid its mayor $122,181 last year. Councillors received about $43,900.

According to a report from Chilliwack city staff, expenses for a seven-person council totalled $12,029 in 2021, with each council member expensing between $1,243 and $2,162.

According to the SOFI report, about 13.8 per cent of vendors used by the city incurred costs over $25,000 in 2021, compared to 14.3 per cent in 2020.

The top 10 vendors — including payments for RCMP, BC Transit, employee benefits and work on council-approved capital projects — made up nearly 55 per cent of the city’s overall expenditures.

According to the report, the city spent $20.5 million for RCMP services, $15.2 million for employee benefits, $11.7 million in operational costs including utilities and transit, and $27.5 million for council-approved capital costs.

"Some of these projects included, but are not limited to, Tranquille Road upgrade, McArthur Island path upgrade, and [the] Summit Drive multi-use path,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said the report includes expenses that are recoverable from other agencies, like costs related to Emergency Operations Centre and Emergency Support Services work, which was increased due to last year’s wildfire and flood emergencies.

According to the city, many of these costs will be recovered from the province, with claims currently pending finalization.

Mayor Ken Christian thanked the finance division for putting together the annual report.

“That is, again, part of our annual accountability to the community in terms of the expenditures of the City of Kamloops, and I encourage them to go and look at that and digest it at their leisure,” Christian said.

The City of Kamloops’ SOFI report can be found here.