In a year consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Kamloops spent less on employee salaries and expenses in 2020 than it did the previous year.
According to the Statement of Financial Information report, in 2020, the city paid $60,826,246 in straight wages to municipal employees. That was $826,000 less than 2019, as employee raises were largely offset by layoffs during the pandemic. Including benefits, the city paid about $1.9 million less in total income to employees.
“The reduction in remuneration occurred from a reduction in overtime-generating activities throughout the city, temporary layoffs for the Tournament Capital Centre renovation and COVID-19 restrictions, and the change in Kamloops Fire Rescue duties due to provincial health authority COVID-19 restrictions,” a city staff report says.
Expenses among city staff was $329,186 last year, which was 44 per cent less than 2019. Expenses among councillors also dropped to $9,286 last year, which was down 71 per cent from the year prior. This comes as many municipal, provincial and federal conventions and events did not take place.
The city also paid mayor and council $414,622 in straight wages last year, which is up just over $15,000 from 2019. Mayor Ken Christian’s salary rose to $99,460, which was up by $4,336 from 2019, while all eight councillors saw their salaries rise to $39,784 last year, up by $1,735. The city report says the mayor’s salary is comparable to similar communities, and that council salaries are a pre-determined of portion of that.
Last year, the city also spent $155,405,343 on suppliers of goods and services, which is an increase of more than $23 million from 2019. The largest contracts last year were for RCMP service ($21,980,031), Extreme Excavating ($13,836,017), and the Pension Corporation ($11,783,720).
The city’s “sunshine list,” of employees whose total income was greater than $75,000, had 359 workers, compared to 344 the year prior. The highest-paid civic employee last year was city manager David Trawin, who earned $283,268 in remuneration plus $10,240 in benefits.
Under B.C.’s Financial Information Act, municipalities have to disclose the names and total income of employees who earn more than $75,000 in a calendar year. That threshold has not changed since 2000, despite annual increases in inflation.
