CAO’s salary should be frozen
[The CVRD’s CAO] says that she and district staff will be working to help area directors to find a solution to decrease the draft budget proposal of 12.19 per cent tax increase. There are many factors facing the CVRD in regards to their finances.
First on the list is to immediately take control of all labour costs. The 2021 yearly wage for the chief administrative officer was $232,201. The present yearly salary for the premier of B.C. is $218,586. The CAO of the CVRD is paid $13,615 more per year than the B.C. premier or 6.2 per cent. This is absurd, and why isn’t the CAO yearly salary frozen? Giving out wage increases on top of these outrageous wages is total nonsense. The salary [should] be frozen until the day of retirement.
In 2021, 51.1 per cent of the total yearly payroll cost for the CVRD were for employees earning $75,000 per year and up.
I will be writing to the B.C. minister of Municipal Affairs outlining the serious [harm] being done with these uncontrollable wages. The CVRD is not the only jurisdiction with serious wage problems.
All 162 B.C. municipal jurisdictions have wages being paid that B.C. taxpayers can no longer afford.
Municipal management and elected council officials are all two faced. Why? They do the exact opposite in controlling expenses when it comes to their personal finances. Control expenses to eliminate tax increases.
Unbelievable!
Joe Sawchuk
Duncan