The cost of the elected officials of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary totalled over $500,000 for 2019.
The wages and expenses were listed in the district’s annual Statement of Financial Information.
There are 20 listed elected officials, including directors and alternates, who were paid $399,345 for the year, with $105,134 in claimed expenses.
As chair of the board of directors as well as the director for Electoral Area D, Roly Russell received the most in compensation, with $61,559 plus $14,814 to cover expenses.
There was a great deal of difference in pay between not only individual directors, but also between the directors and their alternates.
Don Berriault, one of the alternate directors, received $90 for the year, with no expenses.
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Other financial information released in the statement included the amount the regional district paid to suppliers of goods and services, as well as debt servicing through grants and other expenditures. For the year of 2019, there were 128 different recipients who were paid at least $25,000 for products and services.
Combined with payments under $25,000, the regional district paid a total of $20,294,518 in 2019. Of that total, $17,090,420 was distributed among the 128 recipients named in the financial statement.
There were 13 who received over $300,000, with the largest recipients Rocky Mountain Phoenix at $1,586,340; BC Transit at $1,462,469; and Alpine Disposal and Recyling at $1,039,350. Those were the only three to receive more than a million from the regional district.
The highest-paid employee for the regional district out of the 42 who were listed as making more than $75,ooo for the year was chief administrative officer Mark Andison. He was paid $171,196 plus expenses.
The total for non-elected members of the RDKB totalled $9,247,298 in remuneration, with $4,556,192 going to employees making more than $75,000 a year.
The financial statement was published as part of the agenda for the Regional District of the Kootenay Boundary’s Aug. 27 meeting of the board of directors.
Brennan.Phillips@grandforksgazette.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
