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Richmond councillor wants elected municipal officials' salaries consolidated

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie noted meetings require preparation and board members are responsible for budgets in the billions.
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Elected officials' salaries and compensation are reported out publicly in several documents.

A Richmond city councillor wants all types of compensation for politicians to be consolidated into one report to show what they’re being paid.

City Coun. Kash Heed plans to ask the rest of council to endorse compiling the total amount elected officials are earning, including what they earn as chairs of committees or for attending regional meetings.

While Malcolm Brodie earned just under $200,000 for being the mayor of Richmond, his total compensation in 2023, including serving on Metro Vancouver and TransLink boards, comes to almost $332,000, which is more than what B.C. Premier David Eby earns.

“You have to question if that’s the best value for the taxpayer — in my opinion, it’s not,” Heed said.

Currently, information about salaries, benefits and other compensation is available in various reports, reported separately by each organization; for example, city employees' (those paid more than $75,000 per year) and city council's salaries are reported annually, usually in late June, in the Statement of Financial Information.

Brodie declined to comment on his level of compensation, saying “others are going to have to judge that.”

Regional meetings compensated with per diems

Council members who sit on regional boards are paid for each meeting while the chair and vice-chair receive an annual salary.

For example, as of June, TransLink directors are paid a per diem of $1,200 for a “full meeting” or $600 for a “short meeting.”

Heed noted that provincial MLAs don’t get paid for attending meetings, although they are paid higher if they belong to cabinet.

In his opinion, attending meetings should be part to the job and not compensated separately.

Brodie, however, said, not only is there travel time to and from meetings and the time the meetings take, but there can be a lot of preparation for these meetings as well.

Furthermore, the regional boards are responsible for budgets that are in the billions of dollars, he added.

In 2023, Brodie’s total compensation included his mayor’s salary of about $198,000 plus another $45,000 in benefits and expenses, $40,000 for his role on TransLink’s Mayors’ Council and another $45,000 for his role on the Metro Vancouver board.

Brodie told the News people are allowed to have their opinions on his salary, and he didn’t want to respond to criticism that it might be too high.

“Every four years, we have to apply for our job through what’s called an election,” Brodie said. “People have a choice.”

As for transparency, Brodie noted the fact he’s being questioned about his compensation shows there’s transparency in the reporting of salaries.

Heed plans to bring a motion to city council calling for consolidation of these salaries into one report in order to bring “transparency” to how much elected officials in Richmond are paid.

Heed is also asking the provincial government to amend legislation and the Community Charter so all compensation is part of the reporting process.


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