Delta residents have a chance to see not only what their elected council members made last year, but also the highest earning city employees with the recent release of the 2023 Statement of Financial Information report.
The Financial Information Act requires municipalities to prepare and approve a report by June 30 each year.
In addition, the Community Charter requires municipalities to report publicly, council pay and benefits as well as their expenses for the preceding year.
The latest report is once again a breakdown of council salaries, car allowances and other benefits, which are also combined to provide their total remuneration.
The report also has a separate line item listing their expenses.
The report also lists the City of Delta’s audited financial statements, employees with remuneration exceeding $75,000, supplier payments for goods and services exceeding $25,000 and payments for grants, among other information.
According to the report, Mayor George Harvie’s salary last year was $178,101, while his total remuneration totalled $198,358. His expenses were listed at $3,183.
Councillors Rod Binder, Dan Boisvert, Jessie Dosanjh, Alicia Guichon, Jennifer Johal all had a base salary of $75,962, with total remuneration at $89,156.
Coun. Dylan Kruger had a salary of $93,839 and his total remuneration was $107,033, while he topped all councillors in expenses at $10,408.
Delta council in 2023 approved a salary raise, the first council remuneration adjustment in four years.
The mayor’s base salary increased from $154,264, while councillor salaries increased from $62,788.
Ten years ago, in 2014, Mayor Lois Jackson’s base salary had increased to $113,832, while councillors saw their pay increased to $48,734.
Using several other municipalities for a salary comparable, Delta continues to be the largest municipality in the province to employ a mayor and six councillors.
It’s normal practice for municipalities with populations over 50,000 to have eight councillors.
The 2023 Statement of Financial Information also lists the top salaries for various employees, ranging from members of the fire department to senior city management.
The top total remuneration earners were Marcy Sangret ($354,765), Guy McKintuck ($292,281), Parmajit Grewal ($258,198), Steven Lan ($255,579) and Michael Donoghue ($250,303).
Among the lengthy list of goods and suppliers in 2023 was the city’s share to be a member of the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) at $4,214,807. The budget for 2024 will see an increase of close to seven per cent, which will work out to almost $276,800, an amount that will be shown in next year’s report.
Among the other increases seen in the latest report are Greater Vancouver Regional District, listed at $9,888,854, and the Greater Vancouver Water District, listed at $21,658,299.
Last year’s report covering the 2022 fiscal year listed those line items at $9,020,635 and $18,698,572 respectively.
