Kelowna city payroll increases by $2.3 million
The $75,000-plus a year club at city hall increased by 30 in 2011, Kelowna council learned Monday.
Those higher wages helped contribute to an overall $2.3 million bump in city wage payouts from the previous year, bringing the 2011 total to $58.4 million.
Although it may seem like a hefty increase, director of financial services Keith Grayston explained it was a matter of necessity as a number of union employees benefitted from contract increases for 2010 that were paid in 2011. Numbers were also buoyed by paid-out overtime.
That said, some councillors had questions about whether city staff wages were on the right path.
"I know everybody works hard, and I have a lot of respect for everybody, but I have heard, especially to during the campaign, that our staff is highly paid," said Coun. Mohini Singh.
Grayston assured Singh that wages are not out of line.
"We have a program where a consultant works to see where our salaries are compared to similarly sized communities," he said.
"We're not the lowest , we're not the highest, we're at the 75th percentile for our salary range. It does fit in with other municipalities our size."
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.