District of Squamish staff salaries increased by half a million dollars last year, according to the recently released 2009 financial statement.
In 2009, Squamish spent $3,087,604 on 33 municipal employees earning upwards of $75,000 - up from $2,532,330 on 28 people earning more than $75,000 in 2008.
Employees earning less than $75,00 added up to $6,331,270, for a grand total of $9,418,874 in municipal salaries.
Three years ago council members accepted recommendations to bring staff salaries in line with comparable municipalities, and it's worked to the town's benefit, said Mayor Greg Gardner.
"We've had good success in both attracting and retaining high quality people - that was one of the driving forces behind the major increases that were given about three years ago to make sure that we are competitive in the market place," said Gardner.
A review of Salmon Arm - population 16,000 - showed its top salaried positions were very similar to Squamish's. Their chief administrative officer made $135,065 while Squamish paid $139,445. Salmon Arm's engineering and public works director made $99,933 while Squamish paid $98,244.
Despite the resemblances, planning director Cameron Chalmers said several pressing factors other than population play into salary decisions.
"There are comparables, but it's not as easy as saying 'Let's compare to Salmon Arm because they have a similar population,'" he said.
"We have competition for our staff because we're unique in that we live in such close proximity to several major centers who can offer higher salaries. We're more likely to compare some of what we do to some other cities in the Lower Mainland - but we can't compare our tax base [to the Lower Mainland]."
Squamish's northern resort neighbour also provides some stiff competition.
Jim Godfrey, the now-retired head of Whistler's 2010 Games office, was the highest paid staffer with a salary of $239,499. CAO Bill Barratt was the next highest at $201,106.
Gardner said despite the draw of larger paycheques in neighbouring communities to the north and the south, Squamish has some perks that can't be beat elsewhere.
"Squamish is both a desirable place to live and the District of Squamish is a desirable place to work because we have so many exciting things going on for a municipal employee," he said.
"We're in a relatively high growth area and people realize they have a chance to put their own stamp on a community so that is a positive in attracting people."
Chalmers said the opportunity to be a part of projects such as the Waterfront Landing and the Oceanfront development was a major draw for him when he moved to Squamish in 2002.
But the most substantial portion of the salary spikes accrued out of union workers' overtime.
Several union workers received as much as $10,000 more in 2009 then 2008, mainly because of overtime hours according to Gardner. He said thanks to the 2010 Squamish Service Initiative, overtime hours is now managed more closely.
"We'll be gathering fiscal information on what we're doing with overtime on a regular basis, so if we see an extraordinary amount of overtime in one department or one job position, we are determining whether there's another way to manage and minimize overtime."
The top salaried positions at the District of Squamish are the CAO at $139,445; the wastewater treatment plant chief at $137,562; parks foreman at $116,051; community development director at $113,722; general manager of corporate services at $111,293; planning manager at $109,989; fire chief at $109,514; parks maintenance supervisor at $107,680 and finance director at $104,144.
