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Ferries, a fjord & mayor’s new book PORT COQUITLAM
Pay, trans. bumps for PoCo pols Pay increases are to be tied to the rate of inflation JANIS WARREN
The Tri-CiTy News
Port Coquitlam city council will give itself a small pay raise in the new year — and a big bump to the mayor’s annual transportation allowance. On Monday, council unanimously voted to approve a new formula that will see the mayor and councillors’ salaries rise, on Jan. 1 of each year, according to inflation. (But it still has to officially amend the city policy governing elected officials’ pay.) That means Mayor Greg Moore’s current annual remuneration of $91,148 will go up $1,093 should the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate stay the same as this past year, 1.2%. Based on the same CPI, city councillors would see a jump in their pay of $428 from the
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New Coquitlam library book bus on road / Canada Post freezes mailbox plans
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28, 2015 Your community. Your stories.
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IT’S NOT ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE
current $35,667. Councillors say the new way of calculating annual pay raises is better than the current methodology. In the past, PoCo based council remuneration on the average of the two municipalities with populations immediately greater and lower than PoCo’s: New Westminster and Maple Ridge (greater) and the city of North Vancouver and West Vancouver (lower). Speaking in favour of PoCo’s new approach, Coun. Brad West criticized Coquitlam for matching its council pay to increases in the city union’s collective agreement, saying the CPI is not only cheaper but is also more in line with what taxpayers get. Still, while citing cost efficiencies, council on Monday also boosted the mayor’s transportation allowance by 62% — from $4,450 to $7,200 — which will also be adjusted to CPI annually. see MAYOR, CAO DEFEND, page 8
LOCAL SKATER READY TO COMPETE
At 17, Larkyn Austman embarks on a comeback of sorts in the sport she loves: Sports, page 30
ELAINE FLEURY PHOTO
You’ve seen sleek road bikes and fat-tired mountain bikes but there were bikes — and a competition — of a different sort last Sunday in Port Coquitlam’s Castle Park, which played host to the CastleCross cyclocross race. Cyclocross involves athletes using bikes resembling road bikes but equipped with slightly fatter, knobby tires so they can negotiate hilly, muddy courses. For more from Sunday’s race, see Sports in The Tri-City News on Friday.
THRIFTY’S AD HERE
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The Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce and Bestway Tours & Safaris
Invite you to experience...
Pamper yourself on a luxurious 11 day guided tour of Mysore, Ooty and Kerala on a backwater river cruise April 3 to April 13, 2015 | ONLY $3195 + taxes (includes airfare)
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