THE WEDNESDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
JUNE 25, 2014
TRI-CITY NEWS
www.tricitynews.com
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
The Matinée is home
Play ball and more
SEE ARTS, PAGE A18
SEE SPORTS, PAGE A23
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 Golden Spike Days/A21 Chamber newsletter/B1
A busy first weekend of summer in Tri-Cities Thousands enjoyed the weekend sunshine in the Tri-Cities with a number of special events on Saturday, including the second annual Port Moody Parade (top left), the 15th annual show and shine at the Port Moody Legion (bottom left) and the BC Highland Games and Scottish Festival (below) at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park, where at least one border collie put training and breeding to the test with the help of some sheep. More photos, please see page A3.
PHOTOS: ABOVE, TRACY RIDDELL; BELOW & RIGHT: ELAINE FLEURY
Transit plan work is needed on funds says Stone
Big pay days at 3 city halls COQUITLAM: $71.2M in salaries last year for city staff and politicians
PORT COQUITLAM: Labour contracts PORT MOODY: Total city staff remusigned last year hiked some numbers neration climbed $1.2M from 2012
By Janis Warren
By Gary McKenna
By Diane Strandberg
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n Minister Todd Stone said he’s prepared to authorize a referendum next year on creating a new regional carbon tax for TransLink — provided Metro Vancouver mayors confirm by July 15 they want to hold one.
Thirty-five more employees of the city of Coquitlam earned pay of more than $100,000 last year than in 2012. # of Coq. staff According to the municipalwho earned ity’s 2013 Statement of Financial >$100,000 Information, released on Monday, last year 142 city staffers earned salaries (some of which include retroactive pay) above the $100,000 mark, compared with 107 employees in ’12 and 93 in ’11. This includes 18 staffers who collected more than $150,000 while another five took in more than $200,000 in remuneration. In total, the city spent $71.2 million in salaries for staff and council last year, plus $496,012 in expenses.
Staffing costs continued to rise last year for the city of Port Coquitlam, which paid close to $27 million in base salaries and ben# of PoCo staff efits, according to the recently rewho earned leased 2013 remuneration report. >$100,000 The annual Statement of last year Financial Information Report, which was made public Monday, showed that of the 460 full- and part-time staff, 129 people earned $75,000 or more in remuneration last year while 45 earned $100,000 or more. At the top of the list was PoCo’s chief administrative officer, John Leeburn, who earned a base salary of $194,460 plus $5,079 in benefits (plus $7,467 in expenses).
Port Moody’s most recent financial statements show a reorganization at the top. According to the 2013 Statement # of PM staff of Financial Information made who earned public this week, the city has fewer >$100,000 managers making more than last year $100,000 than in 2012 but those at the top earn larger salaries. For example, last year the city’s top wage earner, city manager Kevin Ramsay, made $198,264, compared to $126,272 made by Gaetan Royer, who was the city’s manager in 2012. But Royer’s expenses of $8,814 in ’12 were higher than the $6,394 reported for Ramsay last year.
see MAYORS’, page A3
see INCREASE OF $6.6M, page A5
see POCO TOTAL, page A6
see REORGANIZATION, page A8
By Jeff Nagel BLACK PRESS
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