The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District board voted in favour of giving itself a 14.29-per-cent raise in order to offset tax increases that will be in effect next year.
“In my opinion, the SLRD gets tremendous value for their money from the electoral area directors who serve,” said regional district chair Jack Crompton.
“They are paid a part-time wage, and they deliver more than full-time hours.”
A similar move has been mirrored in a number of governance bodies, including the Sea to Sky School District.
That’s because as of January 2019, the Canada Revenue Agency will be eliminating tax exemptions previously granted to local elected government officials.
Current CRA regulations grant a tax exemption on one-third of the remuneration paid to these officials. The idea was that this exemption would help offset costs associated with their jobs, such as travel.
Removing these exemptions will cause a loss in take-home pay, and the SLRD board intends to offset this by giving themselves a raise.
The motion was adopted on Oct. 24, but the pay bump will be effective in January, when the new CRA rules begin.
As a result, electoral area directors representing rural parts of the SLRD will annually be making $29,143, up from $25,000.
Municipal directors – from places like Squamish and Whistler – will be paid $14,571 every year, up from $12,500.
On top of their annual stipend, the chair of the SLRD will now also get an additional $12,501, up from $10,724.
The chair of the electoral area directors committee will get an additional $3,270 – up from $2,805 – added on top of their salary. The electoral area directors committee attends to matters specifically just for the rural areas of the SLRD.
Finally, the vice-chair of the SLRD will be receiving an additional $2,073 – up from $1,778 – piled on top of their annual pay.
It’s customary for those acting as chair or vice-chair to get an extra payment on top of their annual salary for the additional work.
Alternate directors – that is, substitutes for directors who can’t make meetings – also get a pay bump. They are typically given payments for each meeting involving official SLRD business.
Payment for short meetings are now $105, up from $92. As for longer meetings, pay for those will now be $185, up from $159.
