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Friday, Jun 14, 2013
Kerry Park group recommends most expensive upgrade
Fall referendum? CVRD delays decision while examining ways to reduce costs
Ashley Degraaf
News Leader Pictorial
T
he Kerry Park Recreation Commission voted Tuesday to recommend a referendum on borrowing a maximum of $14.4 million to upgrade the rec centre. The CVRD’s response Wednesday? Not so
Andrew Leong
Shannyn O’Callaghan of the Brentwood College’s Composition Rock Band sings Stuck in Reverse during Concert for a Summer’s Eve, a showcase of instrument and voice on June 7 at T. Gil Bunch Centre For Performing Arts. All proceeds go to Choirs in Concert for the Children, a music program for special needs youth in the Cowichan Valley.
Director renews call for senior staff salary review
Don Bodger
News Leader Pictorial
P
remier Christy Clark now makes $193,500. But her annual pay still lags behind the $199,000 earned last year by Warren Jones, Cowichan Valley Regional District’s CAO. Taxpayers’ ability to afford the wages being paid the CVRD’s top brass, concerns Shawnigan Lake Director Bruce Fraser Fraser greeted the region’s Statement of Financial information Wednesday — now posted on the CVRD’s website — with a vow to further examine those wage costs and their rise during the past decade. The statement lists 43 CVRD executives earning more than $75,000 plus expenses annually. The total for those 43 positions is more than $4.5 million in salaryies, plus
$119,000 in expenses. “Many homeowners in the Cowichan valley are not experiencing salary lifts anything like these,” Fraser noted. Brass got the same 2.5% raise last year as its union staff, as per CVRD policy he noted. But he and some other directors want to basically find a method by month’s end to fairly compare those top salaries with those in the private and public sectors. “You need a systematic application of (job) criteria, like jobs elsewhere and the economy of that region — look at the private sector and public areas in the region. “The general concern I’ve experience at the board table is the CVRD’s wage structure should bear some relation to the general economy, and what everyone is capable of earning in the region,” Fraser said of taxpayer incomes.
The CVRD has compared its wages to those paid to staff in other similar-size regions, like Comox, and CVRD policy allows employee pay to sit “in the middle of Bruce Fraser: the pack,” he said. need a system But he and Sahtlam Director Lorne Duncan agreed the CVRD’s pack policy needs another look. “In the private sector where there’s a profit motive, either you make a profit or you go bankrupt, so that regulates remuneration and employee benefits; it’s self regulatory,” Duncan said. “Many American municipalities are insolvent. Do we need to go that far?” more on A4
fast. Shawnigan Lake Director Bruce Fraser said the recommendation for a November referendum was pulled off the CVRD agenda to see if there are ways to reduce that cost. “We’ve got more work to do,” indicated Fraser, noting concerns were mainly centralized around cost to the taxpayer. “One of the things possible of course, is you work on what you want to do there, what needs to be done, and finding other sources. The objective is to try and make the cost as minimal as we can.” Kerry Park Commission Chairman Mike Croft confirmed Tuesday the commission decided to go forward with “option three,” the most expensive of three options being considered. “We came to that decision based on the majority of respondents to our open houses, input and information on our website, said that was the preferred option,” Croft said, noting although it’s the “full blown out” way to go, opportunities may arise for dollar figures to be scaled down. The commission is still pursuing gas tax grants, sponsorships, partnerships with private sector and fundraising efforts. What to do with the aging Kerry Park recreation centre has been a hot topic the past few months through a series of roundtable discussions and consultations. Community open houses took place May 23, May 28 and June 1, where three options were presented: 1. Basic repairs (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, seismic) with a total borrowing cost of $9.4 million 2. Basic repairs and change rooms, including work in option one, as well as new change rooms to the field side of the building with a total borrowing cost of $12.3 million. 3. Basic repairs and community space – including work in options one and two, plus the addition of a dedicated seniors space, childminding, fitness area and multi-purpose space for multi-age programs with a total borrowing cost of $14.4 million. It is not yet clear whether the CVRD is looking for ways to trim costs within option three, or to scale back the scope of that option. Fraser indicated the recommendation would land back on the board table “fairly quickly.”
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