City manager George Murray has received a $25,000 raise, bringing his salary up to $255,000 from $230,000.
The raise ensures Murray‘s salary is near the middle of those for managers of similarly sized B.C. cities, according to Mayor Henry Braun. Murray has not received a raise since he started the job in 2013, and his performance has been good so far, Braun said.
“$255,000 is a lot of money, and 99 per cent of the people would not make that kind of salary, but 99 per cent of the people also do not have a budget of $260 million and a staff of 900 employees,” said Braun.
The recommendation to increase Murray’s salary was approved at a council executive meeting on Nov. 16. Braun said he brought the request forward to staff himself.
Murray’s previous salary was close to the bottom of those for city managers from 10 similar cities in the province, according to Abbotsford council. The cities examined were Coquitlam, Delta, Kelowna, Maple Ridge, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Richmond, Saanich and Surrey.
The $255,000 amount was chosen so that Murray’s pay would be in the middle of this range, they said. Braun also supported the raise because, were Murray to leave his job, this would allow the city to hire another city manager at the going rate without the appearance of a large pay discrepancy.
“I said three years ago that Mr. Murray would save this city millions of dollars,” said Braun, “I [now] know that to be a fact as the mayor and he’s worth every dollar that he makes.”
