School Board trustees in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows district voted against a pay increase for the incoming board to make up for losses due to changing federal tax laws.
They went against a staff recommendation for a 14 per cent pay increase, half of which was to make up for the tax change.
However, they did vote themselves a seven per cent. increase to bring salaries in line with neighbouring districts.
Last week, Maple Ridge council approved a “make whole” salary increase of approximately 20 per cent, to take effect in the new year, for the new council to be elected in October 2018.
Council’s intent is to ensure the next group of councillors will be compensated at the same rate as the current ones, despite the federal government eliminating a tax exemption on one-third of their compensation.
But the school board, confronted with the same decision, chose not to give themselves a pay hike to fully offset the higher taxes.
“Who else in the real world gets to do that?” asked school board vice-chair Susan Carr, who has announced that she will be running for council in October. “I’m not sure the optics of it are that great – people have a perception about politicians and their pay.”
She agreed any large pay increase an elected body votes itself should take effect for the next group of politicians, as Maple Ridge council did.
The trustees did the same with the seven per cent raise.
The board’s policy is to adjust trustee remuneration on July 1 of each year, based on the cost of living as per the Metro Vancouver Consumer Price Index.
However, a report from secretary-treasurer Flavia Coughlan compared the pay in SD42 to neighbouring districts, and showed that it is the lowest at $23,032 for the board chair, and $20,032 for a trustee. The vice-chair gets $21,532.
The average of neighbouring districts is $29,600 for the chair and $26,500 for trustees. The highest paid school board is Coquitlam at $46,927 for the chair and $42,661 for trustees – more than double SD42’s board. Surrey was second, with $38,400 for the board chair and $33,400 for trustees.
“In determining future trustee remuneration consideration should also be given to addressing the impact of the change in tax treatment for one-third of remuneration from non-taxable to taxable. In SD42, the impact of the tax treatment change is estimated to be an average reduction of net trustee remuneration by seven per cent, or $1,374,” wrote Coughlan.
Her report presented trustees with five options, with two of them including a seven per cent salary increase in recognition of the tax change.
They chose an option to that would adjust remuneration to match the average of all districts except for the two outliers, without adding in Surrey and Coquitlam, effective Nov. 1.
There will also be annual cost of living adjustments on July 1 of each year of the term.
Couglan had recommended an option that would bring trustee pay into line with neighbouring districts Abbotsford, Langley, Delta, Richmond, Burnaby and North Vancouver, in addition to a seven per cent increase for the new tax laws.
That would be a 14 per cent increase to $24,800 for trustees and $27,800 for the chair.
Trustees did not agree with taking the increase to compensate for tax changes, and voted for a seven per cent raise to $23,200 for trustees. The board chair makes $3,000 per year more than trustees, and the vice-chair $1,500 more.
Carr agreed the board could again slip behind neighbouring districts in trustee pay, depending on whether those districts vote themselves a “make whole” increase.
In addition to the base remuneration, all trustees will continue to receive an annual automobile allowance for in district travel of $750.
