First-time parents Geraldine and David James are loving life with little David Junior, who was was born in Kamloops at two minutes past midight on Jan. 1, becoming the first baby born in B.C. in 2013. Craig Lindsay/Merritt Herald
THURSDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK Thursday, May 9, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 37 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
City will review councillor salary By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
MAMA MIA! Mother’s Day is this weekend.We check in on Geraldine James, who gave birth in Kamloops to David Junior, her first baby and the first child born in B.C. this year By Cavelle Layes STAFF REPORTER reporter@kamloopsthisweek.com
British Columbia’s first new mommy of 2013 is looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day this year for a number of reasons. The days after David Junior Ricky Joe James was born in Kamloops, Geraldine James was met with a media frenzy befitting someone of celebrity status. That is because little David Junior just happened to be the first baby born this year in British Columbia. After the dust settled from baby’s early media exposure, Geraldine has spent the last five months experiencing motherhood at its finest and, at times, its toughest moments.
David Junior is the first child of Geraldine and David James — and they admit they weren’t sure what to expect, especially when the time came to take their baby home to Merritt. “It was a bit overwhelming because I wasn’t sure how things were going to be,” Geraldine said. “Every day I learn something new as to how to look after him and what he needs.” While Geraldine said she did a lot of on-her-feet learning, she was also able to get plenty of advice from her mother and grandmother.
‘My whole life is now based around him. Whatever we do as a family reflects his needs.’ — Geraldine James
Becoming a new mother took some adjusting, she said, especially with the early morning wake-up calls. “We have been lucky to have a really good baby boy, though,” Geraldine said. She advises other new moms to not be afraid to ask questions, whether they are directed to family, friends, doctors or nurses. “As a new mom, it is a whole new experience,” she said. “I always felt like I was not sure what to do. I asked my family and friends questions and I even looked online.” David Junior is now beginning to have a more active baby babble and is laughing at little things, Geraldine said. X See MOTHER’S DAY A19
Kamloops councillors are commissioning a report on how their pay stacks up to that of their peers in other B.C. municipalities, but many at the table are not comfortable with giving themselves or a future council a raise. The motion for a report, which passed this week by a close 5-4 vote, came from Coun. Nancy Bepple. Bepple said at private companies for which she has worked, wages are reviewed every three or four years, opining city council is overdue. “Getting information about salaries is a normal business practice,” she said, arguing that getting the report won’t necessarily lead to a debate about a wage increase. “We’re presupposing we would put our compensation level up.” According to KTW’s own wage survey, published on May 6, council’s $25,000 annual paycheque is lower than that of most comparable communities by about $6,000. The city study will also look at a few other measures, such as benefits — which Kamloops councillors don’t receive under the current system, though Mayor Peter Milobar does. Kamloops council hasn’t had a formal salary review since 2002, when council of the day agreed its wages would increase each year based on the Vancouver Consumer Price Index. Coun. Pat Wallace, who voted against Bepple’s motion, said she would prefer to see discussion of wage hikes become part of the 2014 election. That didn’t sit well with other councillors. Coun. Nelly Dever said asking candidates who have never served on council to set their own pay rate doesn’t make sense. Dever, who voted in favour of the motion, said council should set a new policy so the next group at city hall isn’t left dealing with the issue.
“Nobody wants to talk about remuneration, benefits, nothing, but I’m sorry to tell you it’s there. It’s part of our job,” she said. “It’s time to suck it up and do it and quit passing it off to someone else.” “I think there are way more important issues that should come up in an election than whether a city councillor gets medical benefits,” said Coun. Tina Lange, who supported the motion. Lange said the job of being a councillor has changed in 12 years — an argument Bepple has also made — and it makes sense for council to re-examine compensation. She said the low pay and lack of benefits could shut some good candidates out of the race for council. “Am I the best we can get?” she asked. Coun. Marg Spina also said the pay rate might deter young people and others with less stable finances, from running. But, she voted against the motion because it could lead to a salary hike. “My conscience would have me vote against it because I ran on a platform of keeping costs down,” she said. Coun. Ken Christian said a report was unnecessary, since he already knows he would vote against a wage hike for council regardless of how Kamloops stacks up. “We all went through gnarling our teeth over a budget process,” he said. After agreeing to a tax increase much of council found unpalatable, Christian said, “the optics of the thing look really poor.” Milobar also questioned the usefulness of a wage report, since KTW and others have already published salary figures for most of the municipalities from which staff will seek comparisons. “If you want to discuss remuneration or benefits or things like that, just have the conversation,” he said before voting against Bepple’s motion. Councillors Arjun Singh and Donovan Cavers also voted in favour of Bepple’s motion.