Lumby’s mayor insists there is a cost to the public’s business.
Mayor Kevin Acton defends the remuneration and expenses council accumulated during 2012.
“They are right where they should be,” he said.
In 2012, Acton received remuneration of $12,939 and he had expenses of $4,552 for a total of $17,491.
All councillors receive an annual salary of $6,854.
In terms of expenses, the highest was Coun. Lori Mindnich at $5,108, followed by Coun. Randal Ostafichuk at $4,271, Coun. Nick Hodge at $3,311 and Coun. Jo-Ann Fisher at $1,308.
There was a total remuneration of $40,357 for all five council members and a total of $18,551 in expenses.
Acton says his council is very aware of circumstances facing Lumby residents financially and he believes the village is prudent with taxes.
However, he says that many critical issues, such as economic development, require lobbying of senior government officials and others.
“I would be scared if there were no expenses because it means council is not leaving town,” he said.
“We wouldn’t be looking at the biomass energy project if it wasn’t for council getting out there.”
In terms of remuneration, Acton believes the annual salaries do not reflect all of the work council does on behalf of residents.
“You can read background documents on an issue for five or six hours,” he said.
“When people wanted genetically modified organisms banned, council members spent hours on the Internet gathering information.”
The village has also released financial details for staff earning more than $75,000 a year.
Tom Kadla, chief administrative officer, had wages of $104,652 in 2012 and expenses of $11,272. Ken Klassen, chief financial officer, received wages of $83,057 and expenses of $5,530 while Roger Huston, public works superintendent, had remuneration of $87,012 and expenses of $4,846.
The total paid to all other employees was $742,704 for income and $7,759 for expenses.
