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FRIDAYJUNE 28
CITY: Coun. Skakun seeks financial information ... again
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SPIDEY SENSES
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Giving a ‘tending clinic Sports Centre has a good year DeLynda Pilon newsroom@pgfreepress.com
Teresa MALLAM/Free Press Peyton Schmitz has has face painted Spiderman-style by Mira Bailey at Jean Baptiste Day celebrations at Le Circle des Canadiens Francais de Prince George on Fir St. on Saturday.
$75K club grows Bill Phillips editor@pgfreepress.com More than a year into the core services review project and one might assume that staff reductions would have been made at city hall. In January of last year council eliminated 28 positions at city hall, 19 of which were vacant at the time. So there have been staff reductions. But how about since then? The 2012 statements of financial information, which council accepted Monday, indicate there are 229 people on the city payroll making more than $75,000 per year. That is up from 2011 when there were only 220 names on the list. In 2011, the city payroll was $47.6 million, plus another $736,487 claimed as expenses. And while there were more employees making more
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than $75,000, the overall payroll cost dropped to $47 million in 2012 with $652,383 claimed in expenses. The decrease came in the number of employees making less than $75,000, with that part of the bill going from $27 million to $25.6 million. So how do we fare against other similar-sized municipalities? Nanaimo, with a population of 83,000, has 197 employees making more than $75,000 and a total payroll slightly less than Prince George at $46.5 million and employee expenses of $597,487. Kamloops, with a population of about 85,000, had, in 2011, 184 workers making more than $75,000 and a total payroll cost of $49.8 million. Kelowna, with a population of about 117,000, lists 254 employees making more than $75,000. Of those, 100 are management, 93 are firefighters, and 61 are union staff. The total payroll for the city is $57.8 million with employees claiming $577,745
in expenses. The financial statements also show that Mayor Shari Green has been racking up the travel miles. She claimed $20,057 in travel expenses in her first full year as mayor. She took home $101,173 for being mayor, which includes a $4,848 vehicle allowance. In comparison, Dan Rogers wracked up $10,979 in travel expenses during his last year as mayor. Also in comparison, the Nanaimo mayor billed $10,615 in expenses, Kelowna $7,249, and Kamloops $5,398. Among councillors, Dave Wilbur was the most costly, claiming $7,011 in expenses, over and above the $31,259 stipend. Lyn Hall claims $6,266 in expenses, Cameron Stolz claimed $5,711, Garth Frizzell $3,108, Murry Krause $2,368, Albert Koehler $2,291, Brian Skakun $1,855, and Frank Everitt did not claim expenses.
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It’s been a great year for the Northern Sports Centre, with more people than ever taking advantage of the facility which offers a home to minor sports groups, and fitness opportunities for all. Cliff Dezell appeared before city council Monday with a PowerPoint presentation updating officials on what’s been happening at the centre over the last year. One of the first things Dezell pointed out was without the approximately $300,000 the city gives the centre annually, it would not be able to offer the facility to local sports organizations at the price it does. The presentation included hard numbers. While the Northern Sports Centre rents fields for an average of $59.30 per hour,
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