TNRD – Directors fix broken pay bylaw, big raises for 2024 are now official

By MEL ROTHENBURGER
ArmchairMayor.ca

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District board’s handsome pay increase is now official.

The board has fixed a glitch in its remuneration bylaw to authorize an eight per cent hike for municipal directors and a 15 per cent increase for rural directors effective next year.

They also get a four per cent boost retroactive to January of this year.

The approval of the 2024 increase required some fiddling with an earlier decision. Directors thought they’d approved it at a Nov. 23 meeting but I pointed out in an editorial that they’d neglected to include the amounts in their motion and bylaw.

So, at this past Thursday’s meeting, the board quietly rescinded the bylaw they’d earlier passed, and replaced it with a new one that includes the new numbers.

Electoral area directors will get $30,206 in 2024, while municipal directors will receive $17,000. Chair Barbara Roden gets an additional stipend of $28,394 and vice chair Robin Smith of Logan Lake $5,739.

Corporate officer Greg Lowis told the board that the earlier bylaw contained a number of minor and typo issues and the updated version “will correctly have the effect of what we believe was intended to be done at the last bylaw.”

When I originally raised the issue of the bungled motion, I contacted three board directors — Mayor Al Raine of Sun Peaks, Lee Morris of Area P, and Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson of Kamloops — as well as CAO Scott Hildebrand. I was genuinely confused about what the board was trying to do.

Raine was the only one who acknowledged the mistake and was willing to cite the intended raises.

I then received an email response from Lowis that said this:

“Thanks for getting in touch with people at the TNRD over the weekend about the board remuneration reports considered at the November 23^rd, 2023 meeting. Scott Hildebrand’s asked me to reach out directly.

“As you know, the remuneration items, covering items such as expenses for the board members’ communications and travel, as well as the overall remuneration for their role as elected members, has been under discussion for quite some time, and the levels proposed were outlined in detail in the report from the TNRD’s General Manager of People and Engagement which was attached to the November 23^rd Agenda, and published for members and public to read a week prior to the meeting. This included the proposed increases on page 3 of the report, all the votes on which were adopted unanimously by the Board (and if there had been any questions from the room, staff were there ready to address any issues or help with any required clarity).

“At a staff level, we do accept that it could have been made clearer to people who were not already enmeshed in the matter, and will be considering with Chair Roden if any further discussion is required at future meetings (the only immediate change was the reduction of the 2023 increase to below inflation, with other changes taking effect in January).

“As a note, in Corporate & Legislative Services, we might sometimes need to go back to the relevant department for answers but we’re always happy to help with questions you or other media have on agenda items and minutes, whether that’s directly, or through Colton Davies our Communications Manager.”

Since it in no way answered my questions, I followed up:

“Thanks very much, Greg. So, to be clear, is it the position of administration that the motion approved by the board, i.e. ‘That the Board approve a one-time increase to annual indemnities paid to Directors effective January 1, 2024′ actually means “a one-time increase to annual indemnities of 15 per cent for electoral area directors and eight percent for municipal directors,’ or perhaps, ‘a one-time increase to annual indemnities paid to Directors as proposed on page 3 of the November 23, 2023 report to the board on remuneration’?

“Or, at least, that words to that effect are implied or understood?

“Also, I’m wondering if the minutes of the meeting have been written yet. If so, could you let me know where to find them?

“Thanks again. Mel.”

I didn’t receive a reply. But then came the next board meeting, and the new bylaw, which confirms the increases. So now we know what the staff and board meant to do the first time, and actually did the second time.

All votes on the raises, by the way, were unanimous.