Two City of Prince George senior bureaucrats are being paid more than 20 per cent higher than their counterparts at similar-sized B.C. municipalities outside of the Lower Mainland while Prince George's director of external relations is paid a whopping 54.4 per cent more, according to a consultant's report commissioned by the city.
The Management Compensation Review was completed by Sainas Consult of Vancouver and submitted to the city's human resources director last December
The review compared Prince George's wages and benefits to nine other B.C. municipalities - Coquitlam, Delta, Langley and North Vancouver in the Lower Mainland, as well as Kelowna, Kamloops, Saanich, Nanaimo and Chilliwack outside of the Greater Vancouver area.
Compared to those five municipalities, Prince George pays all eight members of its management team, excluding the city manager, above average.
The 2017 job rate for Prince George's director of external relations was $174,830, compared to just $113,205 paid for that role in the five municipalities outside of the Lower Mainland. That rate also eclipses the average pay of $133,273 in the Lower Mainland municipalities.
The review shows that just three city employees answer to Prince George's external relations director, in contrast to the 17 in human resources, ranging up to directors and general managers who directly or indirectly oversee departments with 264 employees.
"Even adjusted for size, the City's position is paid considerably higher than the largest matches," consultant Katherine Sainas writes of the external relations director. "... (W)hile the city 'values' this position at the level of the other Directors, the comparison municipalities typically place this position at a lower pay band than the Directors of HR and Public Works."
Yet the report also notes that Prince George's human resources and public works directors also earn more than their counterparts, both in and outside of the Lower Mainland.
Prince George's job rate in 2017 for human resources director was $174,830, compared to the $138,207 average for the five municipalities outside of the Lower Mainland and $171,557 for the four Greater Vancouver cities.
Prince George's job rate in 2017 for public works director was also $174,830, compared to $143,326 for the five municipalities outside of the Lower Mainland and $169,017 for the four Greater Vancouver cities.
The review further showed Prince George's generosity with vacation entitlement and overtime for senior staff.
"General Managers receive 20 days to start, 25 days at year two, and 30 days vacation in the third and subsequent years of service," Sainas writes.
Meanwhile, overtime policies "vary widely" among the comparison cities, ranging from no exempt overtime policy (meaning there is no such thing but there is flexibility around schedules and additional time off) to three extra weeks holidays per year, one of which can be paid in cash.
In Prince George, two additional weeks of vacation are granted each year in lieu of overtime; it can't be carried over into the following year and it can't be paid out.
Yet the city policy grants cash overtime at double the hourly rate for provincial emergencies, as Friday's editorial discussed. Furthermore, the city's senior staff are likely offered some degree of vacation payout option with their regular vacation time (although the review doesn't explore this option or compare municipal policies).
The Sainas review was conducted to fulfill the last two paragraphs of a 2011 city policy document on pay for exempt employees, which states that "(a) comprehensive compensation survey will be conducted every three years to determine and assess market conditions. The City's compensation for its exempt employees will be reflective of market conditions."
There is no underlying rationale offered to explain why such a formal external review is even necessary.
A human resources employee could easily prepare a report, based on the Statements of Financial Information required by all B.C. municipalities, for remuneration paid to city employees who make more than $75,000 per year.
While that snapshot may not be as detailed as a consultant's study (including teasing out the accounting difference between salary income and total remuneration), it would still offer a reasonable comparison.
Yet it doesn't matter who does the review, because the 2011 city policy allows the city manager sweeping powers to pay senior managers whatever he or she wants.
"By Council delegation, the City Manager has responsibility for administering exempt staff compensation, benefits and other conditions of employment within annual budgets established by Council."
In other words, as long as the payroll budget adds up, the city manager can set wages and benefits for the management team without informing the mayor and city council.
Some might argue that by delegating the responsibility of wages and raises for top staff to the city manager, this is responsible corporate policy. As a board of directors, mayor and council should only deal with their city manager and not meddle in day-to-day operations and personnel issues.
Fair enough but the 2011 policy goes too far because it offers no provision for mayor and council to provide oversight of the city manager's decisions on wages, benefits and pay hikes for high-level employees - and overrule those decisions, if necessary.
Tomorrow: Sainas also conducted a separate comparison of city manager wages across the province. Her conclusion: Prince George's city manager deserves a big raise.
-- Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout
