ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: September 5, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager, Corporate Services
SUBJECT: Council Remuneration and Local Expenses By-laws
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve the Remuneration and Local Expenses By-laws
submitted this day by the Director of Legal Services which will
implement the new salary and business expense package for members
of Council that was recommended by the Compensation Review
Committee and approved on July 25, 1995.
COUNCIL POLICY
Section 196 of the Vancouver Charter stipulates that remuneration and
expenses for Council members must be provided by by-law.
Council is the approval body for City by-laws.
PURPOSE
This report outlines the changes to the remuneration and expense
package for members of Council approved on July 25, 1995, and
recommends approval of the by-laws, submitted concurrently with this
report, which will implement that package.
BACKGROUND
At the Council meeting of February 14, 1995, a Compensation Review
Committee was appointed to make recommendations on base salary levels
and on a system for regular adjustment of the remuneration paid to
Council members.On July 25, 1995, the Compensation Review Committee
presented a report to Council which contained recommendations
concerning salary levels, expense allowances, pension adjustments, and
an objective process for adjusting Council remuneration on an annual
basis. Council approved all eight of the recommendations submitted by
the Committee.
DISCUSSION
The following discussion covers the operative details of the two by-
laws dealing with Council remuneration and expenses submitted for
approval this day.
1. Remuneration for Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors
Council salaries will be adjusted on the pay period ending September
14, 1995 to reflect the new salary levels approved by Council on July
25, 1995, as shown below. These amounts will be paid on a bi-weekly
basis (based on 26 pay periods per year), except for the additional
increment for a Councillor acting as Deputy Mayor which will be paid on
a monthly basis on the pay period closest to the end of the month of
the acting appointment. The amounts reflect gross salaries before
deductions.
Bi-weekly Monthly Annual
Mayor $3,429.00 - $89,154.00
Deputy Mayor - $1,634.49 -
Councillors $1,510.69 - $39,278.00
The Compensation Review Committee recommended that the new compensation
formula be effective August 1, 1995. This means that a one-time payment
to the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and Councillors, calculated as the
difference between the new salary levels and the old salary levels for
the month of August, will be included on the respective September 14th
pay cheques.
The new remuneration by-law contains the methodology to be used to
automatically index Council's salaries at the beginning of each
calendar year, commencing on January 1, 1996. The Mayor's salary, and
the additional monthly increment for the Deputy Mayor, are determined
by formula using the adjusted salary for Councillors as the base. The
Mayor's salary is 2.27 times the rate of a Councillor and the
additional increment for Deputy Mayor is 22% of the monthly salary of
the Mayor.
In years that no census is published, the salary for Councillors will
be adjusted using the change in average weekly earnings in British
Columbia for the most current twelve month period available. As
mentioned above, this adjustment will be calculated as of January 1st
of each calendar year. The Mayor's salary andthe additional increment
for Deputy Mayor will be adjusted by formula as noted above. The
adjusted salaries will be effective in the first full pay period
following the calculation.
In years that a census is published, the salary for Councillors will be
adjusted to the census figure for the average earnings from employment
for Vancouver residents who work full-time, full-year, after that
figure is indexed to the current year. The Mayor's salary and the
additional increment for Deputy Mayor will be adjusted by formula as
noted above. The adjusted salaries will be effective in the first full
pay period following the calculation.
2. Local Expenses for Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors
The local expenses by-law provides a maximum out-of-pocket expense
reimbursement of 10% of the salaries paid to the Mayor and Councillors,
including an additional expense increment for Councillors appointed to
be Deputy Mayor. This allowance is applicable to business expenses
incurred within the Greater Vancouver Regional District. The local
expenses by-law does not alter the authority to pay members of Council
those expenses incurred while travelling on business outside of the
GVRD, and other expenses, all as set out and provided for in By-law No.
7254.
The new local expenses by-law also provides for an adjustment to the
expense allowances applicable to the period between August 1st and
December 31, 1995. Under this provision, the maximum expense allowances
for the Mayor, Councillors, and the Deputy Mayor for the month of
August, are reduced by the monthly equivalents of the one-third non-
taxable portion of the salaries (the expense portion) paid to Council
members in August, 1995 under the old compensation plan. The resulting
1995 expense maximums are as follows:
- $1,878.44 for Mayor (Sept-Dec/95)
- $ 828.64 for Councillors (Sept-Dec/95) *
- $ 163.45 additional monthly increment for Deputy Mayor (Sept-
Dec/95)
* For the Councillor acting as Deputy Mayor for the month of August,
1995, this maximum amount is further reduced by $240.52 to offset the
higher monthly expense allowance paid to the Deputy Mayor under the old
compensation plan. The resulting maximum expense allowance is $588.12
for 1995.
The local expense allowance applies to the following types of expenses
as set out in the by-law. Expenses which fall outside of these
categories are not reimburseable.
- Parking
- Transportation expenses
- Laundry and Dry Cleaning
- Meals related to attendance at meetings- Entertainment
expenses in a
hosting capacity
- Admission fees for cultural and community events
- Membership in organizations contributing to a member's ability to
fulfill the duties of office
- Educational materials and courses and stationery or equipment used
to produce documents or other business material
- Communication expenses
As an alternative to submitting receipts for car expenses or filing a
monthly auto allowance claim form, Councillors who use their cars in
the course of their work may opt to receive a fixed monthly car
allowance equal to 5% of their annual maximum expense allowance
($196.39 per month in 1995). This optional allowance, unlike the
reimburseable expenses discussed above, is considered to be a taxable
benefit since no expense receipts or records of business mileage need
to be filed to receive the allowance.
For example, if Councillors opt to use this fixed car allowance, their
maximum allowable expenses for other items would be reduced to
approximately $1,570, using 1995 full year salaries, as follows:
Total allowable expenses p.a.(10% maximum) $3,927.80
Less: fixed car allowance ($196.39 x 12) 2,356.68-
Remaining allowance for other expenses $1,571.12
The Director of Finance will supply each member of Council and the
Councillors' secretariat with written instructions on how to claim the
expense allowance and which internal forms to use for this purpose. The
normal process will be to submit a monthly claim for reimbursement
using existing City systems, noting that original receipts or other
documents establishing the expense(s) must be filed with the claim
form. This reimbursement process will be in effect after August 31,
1995.
Expenses of any type will be paid up to the maximum total annual amount
provided for in the local expenses by-law.
3. Participation of Council Members in Superannuation Plan
On July 25, 1995, Council approved the following resolution dealing
with the Municipal Superannuation Plan.
"That Council should request amendments to the Vancouver Charter so
that legislation authorizing Council participation in the Municipal
Plan is consistent with legislation governing the Municipal
Superannuation Plan."
Presently section 206C of the Vancouver Charter provides that Council
may provide a pension for any member of Council, or any person who was
a member of Council on December 31, 1972, who has served for a period
of not less than ten years.Staff are now preparing a list of suggested
amendments to the Vancouver Charter for possible implementation in
1996. An appropriate amendment respecting Council participation in the
Municipal Superannuation Plan will be submitted to Council as part of
that process. Council will be asked to approve the proposed amendments
before a final list is compiled for submission to the Provincial
Government this year.
CONCLUSION
The recommendation of this report and the associated remuneration and
expenses by-laws reflecting Council's action on July 25, 1995 are
submitted for consideration and approval. The discussion section of
this report outlines the features and implementation particulars around
the new compensation package for Council. This package was recommended
to Council by the Compensation Review Committee appointed by Council.
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