The directors of the Metro Vancouver regional district are reconsidering a retirement allowance that could pay out as much as $1,100 per year to departing directors, for every year of service.
The regional board previously came under fire after members voted to give retiring directors a one-time allowance as a rate of their annual remuneration.
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In a news release, board chair and Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said he would put forward a motion to reconsider the “Board Remuneration Bylaw” that saw directors vote to change their pay rates in an effort to offset tax changes that were introduced in the 2017 federal budget.
The bylaw included a retirement allowance that would have paid a lump sum of about $15,000 to the average director who was departing, though Moore was set to collect close to $45,000.
“I think a true leader should have the ability to change their minds,” Moore told Global News on Tuesday.
“I think too many times especially people in political situations, they make a decision and they stick with the decision no matter what.”
Moore expects that the retirement allowance will be overturned.
The board came under fire for its decision, particularly from director and West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith, who said he found it “truly shocking.”
READ MORE: ‘This item was not on the agenda’: West Van mayor angered at Metro board retirement allowance
Once approved, departing board members would have received an allowance as a rate of their remuneration. That rate was 10.2 per cent, and it added up to a cost to taxpayers of just under $500,000.
Smith was on vacation when the vote was taken on the afternoon of March 23.
He said the item was not on the board agenda before he left for vacation, and said he would have cancelled his plans to go away had he known directors would vote on it.
“Why were board directors not given advance notice that this issue was being considered? There should have been a full discussion by the board prior to staff preparing bylaws. What was the rush?” he asked.
In a statement, Moore said the board “clearly missed the mark with respect to the new remuneration bylaw.”
“It is a sign of good leadership to admit a mistake and change directions,” he said. “This is exactly what this motion will do, it is the reason why the reconsideration process is in place.”
The bylaw will be reconsidered at the board’s meeting on April 27.
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The 2017 federal budget proposed that the “Municipal Officers’ Allowance” be eliminated in 2019.
The allowance made it so that one-third of mayors’ and councillors’ total remuneration would not be subject to tax or source deductions.
But that means a potential drop in net pay for mayors and councillors.
Port Coquitlam council voted to boost its mayor’s pay by $25,050 and councillors’ pay by $5,115 in response to the changes.
But those pay increases won’t come into effect until after a new mayor and council takes office after the November municipal elections.
- With files from Simon Little, Jon Azpiri, Jill Bennett and Ted Chernecki
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