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RDN board members give themselves a raise

Dec 14, 2017 | 2:47 PM

NANAIMO — Regional District of Nanaimo board members are in line for a raise.

The majority of the 19-member board will see their annual salaries rise $5,000 for municipal directors. Board chair Bill Veenhof will see the most dramatic jump, with his pay shooting up from nearly $52,000 to $82,000. The raise was recommended in a report from an independent consultant.

Veenhof told NanaimoNewsNOW the report showed RDN board members are vastly underpaid compared to like-sized local governments in B.C. He said offering more money is an important step in attracting young blood.

“Offering a wage that a young person can look at and say ‘Yeah, I’d like to run for office’ and that person could then know that they’re protected while in office, it is very important.”

He said the RDN board is well stocked with older, retired representatives and a “younger perspective is just healthy for the board, for the functioning of the RDN and the constituents.”

The report said the role of an elected official continues to become more complex, requiring phone calls, email exchanges, meetings with constituents and community events, which are often not visible to the public.

Veenhof said their demands are significant, with the workload including plenty of reading material on top of meetings and community engagements.

He said local government representatives are on the front line of our political landscape.

“When a constituent picks up the phone they are getting a director on the phone, they are getting their local government official.”

Veenhof said the previous pay increase, a “modest” one, for RDN board members was in 2014.

The pay hike will take full effect next November, after the municipal election, and will cost the RDN $160,000. Exact salaries for RDN board members vary since remuneration is linked to the number of committee and board meetings attended. 

Veenhof said he didn’t hear any public concern about the proposed pay increase.

 

CURRENT SALARY OF RDN BOARD MEMBERS

  • Electoral Director $30,671
  • Municipal Director $15,009
  • Electoral Area Board Chair $51,609 

 
INCOMING SALARY OF RDN BOARD MEMBERS

  • Electoral Director $40,000
  • Municipal Director $20,000
  • Electoral Area Board Chair $82,000

 

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes