CVRD wages the problem causing tax increases
The CVRD is very careless with the taxpayers’ money, so careless causing to have to raise taxes every year. The number one cause of their carelessness is having no control over the CVRD labour costs.
As a example, I will be using financial information from the yearly audited financial statements from the year 2018, as information for 2019 has not been posted yet.
The total payroll cost for 2018 was $21,955,586 which covers total wages and benefits. The CVRD directors were paid $434,988.91 in wages and $68,784.42 in personal individual director expenses. Director Ian Morrison was paid $39,499.25 and director, Jon Lefebure was paid $38,865.70 in wages.
These jobs are only part time, and for anyone still employed at a full time job, or even someone who is retired, these amounts of pay are very nice to the people that these wages are being paid to. Just like winning a lottery.
There are 85 employees that were paid over $75,000 and up per year. The total amount was $8,384,900 or 38.1 per cent of total wages. A number of these 85 employees are earning in excess of $100,000 and the fact and reality of this, is that they no longer need a pay raise, ever and can be paid this wage rate until their retirement. There is a limit to every job classification.
In the 2017 B.C. provincial election, some taxpayers voted for a change in government. The result was electing an NDP minority government. The NDP government eliminated the B.C. Medical Service plan billings for everyone. They legislated a new tax to help recover monies lost from the B.C. medical services plan.
This new tax is called the Employer Health Care tax. The tax is calculated as 1.95 per cent times the total wages and benefits paid out for the year.
Under the old system, the CVRD paid out $135,562.50 to the medical services plan, which in turn these amounts were added to employee paycheques as a taxable benefit on which they paid federal statutory deductions on as per federal law.
Now with the new employer health care tax, the new amount to be paid is $428,133.92, an increase of $292,571.42 or a increase of 215.8 per cent. This increase has to be absorbed as additional expenses to the CVRD and thus must be paid for by the taxpayers, thus a tax increase compliments from the taxpayers that voted for a change in government.
This is called NDP math, which is created without ever doing any research on the tax, to see if the tax is justifiable. This example proves why the other nine provinces in Canada refuse to have provincial NDP governments elected.
The CVRD has a union CUPE contract in existence for its non-management staff. The last contract was a four-year contract for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The employees were given a pay increase of 1.99 per cent in each of the four years.
One of the job classifications is a Grounds Keeper 1. This classification has a three level, rate, possibly to do with years of seniority.
The rates of pay are $30.54, $31.44, and $32.39 per hour.
Wages are out of control, and what is needed is that wages must be frozen, for example, three years. This one item alone would lower expenses. The system of paying more wages every year and having to raise taxes is a no win situation.
In the private sector, there is management and non management employees. Management sets the example, and controls wages paid.
In the CVRD the dollars being spent on wages proves that management and non management is in total, just one body, as it is taxpayers’ money and who cares, as long as we get our paycheques.
The CVRD management team are two faced, as if the money was being spent out of their own bank account, for their personal use in regards to their home, autos, vacation, etc. they would make sure that they got the best buy for their money.
The CVRD is not the only municipal government paying out careless wages. Every municipal government in the province is doing exactly the same.
A solution to the problem, is for the B.C. government to approve all management and union wages paid out and eliminate the local municipal authorities to no longer have any say in wages paid.
Presently the only law that the provincial government has in place over the municipalities is that they all have to have balanced budgets.
In summary, taxpayers, take a stand, it is your money. Unbelievable!
Joe Sawchuk
Duncan