Bob Mackin
City of Vancouver’s “100 Grand” club broke the 2,000 mark last year.
The annual statement of financial information, published March 22, shows 2,023 employees of city hall, the park board and fire department were paid $100,000 or more.
In 2021, there were 1,798 employees with similar pay packets.
Paul Mochrie (Vancouver Economic Commission)
Twenty-seven of them grossed over $200,000, topped by city manager Paul Mochrie at $343,549.
Patrice Impey was second on the pay podium ($309,456), followed by city solicitor Francie Connell ($308,056).
Community services general manager Sandra Singh ($306,774) and deputy city manager Karen Levitt ($302,926) rounded out the top five.
General manager Donnie Rosa was the highest-paid at the Park Board, where the 273 employees averaged $99,009.01.
Chief librarian Christina de Castell ($267,662) earned more than fire chief Karen Fry ($263,828). Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services’ 798 employees averaged $130,160.
There were 1,100 working in engineering under that department’s general manager, Lon LaClaire ($293,356). Engineering employees averaged $99,019.24 in 2022.
A total 3,639 names are on the 2022 sunshine list for employees paid $75,000 and up, a 6% increase from 2021’s 3,426.
The report did not offer any details about the eight severance agreements in 2022 ranging from a half-month to 17 months gross salary.
Former Mayor Kennedy Stewart was the highest-paid politician at $181,679 plus $20,577 in local expenses. Stewart spent $780,390 on political staff and other discretionary expenses. Ken Sim succeeded Stewart on Nov. 7, after the landslide win in the October civic election.
Two regional government utility boards, whose members are not directly elected, received the biggest total annual payments from city coffers: Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District ($91.5 million) and Greater Vancouver Water District ($89.6 million). Number three on the list was the B.C. Municipal Pension Plan ($86.9 million).
The city paid $16.58 million in grants to the 22 business improvement areas, including $6.05 million to the Downtown Vancouver BIA. Funds granted to BIAs are raised through a special tax levy.
Vancouver Art Gallery ($2.12 million) and Vancouver Symphony Society ($1.59 million) were top cultural grant recipients. The biggest grants to non-profit agencies went to the Aboriginal Land Trust Society ($6.25 million) and Lookout Housing and Health Society ($5.38 million).
For the year ended Dec. 31, city hall reported a $552.4 million surplus on $2.45 billion revenue.
The record property tax haul of $1.08 billion was $74 million better than budgeted.
City reserves stood at $1.69 billion at the end of 2022, $231.5 million higher, year-over-year,. It also reported $611.7 million in net long term debt.
Sim and his majority ABC city council voted Feb. 28 to hike taxes 10.7% for this year’s $1.97 billion budget.
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