In a majority vote May 9, Capital Regional District board members voted to push forward with a raise for CRD executive staff members.
This means CRD staff, some making as much as $268,000 per year, can expect as much as a 2.67 per cent increase to their salary.
This jump applies to just under 10 per cent of CRD staff, and pertains to members exempt from the CRD unions. The 2.67 per cent increase is the average increase across different positions, so some may get more and some may get less.
The decision came after board members addressed an B次元官网网址渆xempt compensation policyB次元官网网址� designed to keep wages competitive in comparison to other regions, with a focus on retaining staff. The policy was established in 2006, and asks a consultant to take a look at 11 similar municipalities every three to five years, and make a recommendation about wage increases to keep them in the median range, with a total increase cap of 3 per cent.
The last time the CRD conducted a similar review in 2014, it resulted in a 2.15 per cent increase.
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Several board members expressed what they considered to be flaws in the system, voting against following the recommended increase.
B次元官网网址淭he gap between our front line workers and staff, and also tax payers and managers is too high,B次元官网网址� said Victoria city Coun. Ben Isitt. B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 wrong.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e have a sharp escalation in compensation for exempt staff,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淭he government is constantly pushing ceilings higher and higherB次元官网网址� until youB次元官网网址檙e totally out of whack with what youB次元官网网址檙e paying the front line employees and staff.B次元官网网址�
He also noted the comfortable lifestyle that Victoria and the surrounding area offers should be considered as one of the factors other than compensation that would drive people to work for the organization.
Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell was also against it, saying the policy didnB次元官网网址檛 look into the cost of living in each respective area, and that a personB次元官网网址檚 workload should be considered when gauging how much of a raise increase they should get.
Metchosin Mayor John Ranns broke down the numbers and saw too large a disparity between different staff levels.
B次元官网网址淭he process weB次元官网网址檙e using is skewing the differences between the pay bands,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭op pay bands are separating themselves from the lower pay bandsB次元官网网址� the problem is exacerbated every year.B次元官网网址�
Ranns pointed out that between 2006 and 2018 the pay increase for the lowest pay band, starting around $60,000 per year, has been $6,398. The pay increase for the top pay band over the same amount of time was $53,731, nearly nine times as much.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the problem right there,B次元官网网址� Ranns said. B次元官网网址淓very time we get a percentage increase, top brackets go up significantly and bottom brackets donB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�
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Victoria city Coun. Geoff Young saw a problem in continually using the same 11 cities B次元官网网址� Saanich, Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Kelowna, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, Victoria, Metro Vancouver and Nanaimo B次元官网网址� as comparatives to set the median wage.
B次元官网网址淚f the same group of cities look at each other and bump the bottom ones up to be the average, everyone will bump each other up,B次元官网网址� Young said.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins voted against the recommendation, saying she didnB次元官网网址檛 like the divisive nature of it.
B次元官网网址淚t is this year that we keep making some statements about holding the line,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 believe that if we donB次元官网网址檛 start holding the line, we really are going to get so far out of the balance between public and private sectors.B次元官网网址�
Saanich Coun. Colin Plant expressed mild concern about moving the motion forward, but ultimately voted in favour of it.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 never something that we like to do when we see such significant cost increases,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut our job as governors is to follow policy, and if we donB次元官网网址檛 like the policy, we should go change the policy.B次元官网网址�
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps agreed with Plant, and also noted that higher wages worked with a B次元官网网址済et what you pay forB次元官网网址� ideology. She added that sometimes people at the top of the chain also typically have B次元官网网址�10 to 15 times more responsibilityB次元官网网址� than those at the bottom.
Helps put forward a motion to address changes to the policy in the future which included looking at cost of living, increasing responsibilities to match the wage, including benefits and reviewing comparative cities across the province.
North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall and Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton also voted against the recommendation, but it ultimately passed.
As of deadline, no date has been set for a motion to review the policy.
