Delta council has voted to walk back its contentious retroactive end-of-service benefit, fulfilling a promise made by all six councillors and Mayor George Harvie during the run-up to last month’s civic election.
In January 2017, council voted on their 2018 remuneration, which included an end-of-service benefit intended to compensate for the fact that Delta’s mayor and councillors are not eligible to join the city’s pension plan. The benefit —dubbed a “golden handshake” by those opposed to it — was meant to provide elected officials with an amount equivalent to the employer’s contribution to the Municipal Pension Plan for their most recent 12 years of continuous service.
On Monday (Nov. 19), council voted 6-1 in favour of an amendment to Delta’s council remuneration bylaw that would eliminate the end-of-service benefit for all members as of Nov. 5, while still providing returning members the benefit for their service prior to that date.
“This preserves equity for those who were members of council prior to Nov. 5, 2018 because they will receive the same benefit as other members of council who served during the same period,” according to a report by city staff.
Four members of the previous council have already received their end-of-service benefit: Sylvia Bishop ($33,958), Robert Campbell ($54,991), Heather King ($19,820) and Ian Paton ($37,235).
Counc. Jeannie Kanakos was the lone member of council to vote against the amendment. Kanakos proposed council instead repeal the relevant section of the remuneration bylaw so as to end the benefit entirely, even though it would mean that she and councillors Lois Jackson and Bruce McDonald would not receive similar compensation for their previous years of service.
“My not agreeing to a benefit package wasn’t tied to whether others got paid or not,” Kanakos said at Monday’s council meeting, referencing statements she made against the end-of-service benefit during the election and similar positions expressed by other members of council during the campaign.
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“By agreeing to this recommendation you’re saying that you do agree to take it for some councillors that are currently elected, however going forward it wouldn’t be the case. And what I wanted to do is say we’ll just wash our hands of it completely because that’s what we said we were going to do,” she said. “This … is a kind of ‘let’s have our cake and eat it too’ bylaw amendment. I appreciate the intention of staff of trying to be fair, however it’s a matter of principle because I was very clear during the election of my stand on this issue.”
Kanakos’ efforts to change the amendment were ultimately defeated.
Monday’s vote means Jackson, Kanakos and McDonald will receive lump-sum payouts — $125,153, $34,199 and $48,978 respectively — equivalent to what they would have earned had they not been re-elected on Oct. 20.
In total, the end-of-service benefit will cost the city $353,334, all of which is already budgeted for.
Council also voted unanimously to refer the issue of council remuneration to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and request the organization develop a policy to help guide future councils, both in Delta and elsewhere in B.C., when considering end-of-service benefits.
“We know that there are seven municipalities that already do give benefits throughout this region and I understand there’s others coming forward to do so as well,” Jackson said at council. “I think your idea of bring it forward through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities could put all the municipalities in British Columbia on the same footing without us having to deal with these things in such an awkward manner. … It is a very difficult thing to do, and I think it should be researched by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for all of us.”
Mayor Harvie added, “We need to work hard at the UBCM to ensure that they are forceful with this government, for the government of B.C. to come up with a framework for other municipalities to follow. In discussions with many mayors, even last week at [the inaugural Metro Vancouver board meeting], every member there would like to see some uniform direction from the province to give guidance, and that’s what this report recommends.”
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