Ex-firefighter tops city hall's list of earners

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Retired Brandon Fire and Emergency Services Capt. Dave Pope was listed as the highest-paid city employee in 2011. (FILE PHOTO)

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Fire Chief Brent Dane (FILE PHOTO)

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Police Chief Keith Atkinson (FILE PHOTO)

Retired Brandon Fire and Emergency Services Capt. Dave Pope went out on top.

Pope was listed as the highest-paid city employee in 2011 in Brandon’s public sector compensation disclosure report, which was released to the public earlier this week.

The report lists people who made $50,000 or more.

Pope’s total compensation package of $181,394 includes overtime hours worked during a busy flood season, as well as a mandatory payout of his unused sick leave benefits once he retired.

That was more than the highest-paid active city employee, Brandon Police Service Chief Keith Atkinson, who made $156,664.48 in 2011, an increase of $32,162.61 from the previous year.

Other top earners included Ted Snure, the city’s general manager of development services, who made $150,112.75 — he was the acting city manager for part of the year. Fire Chief Brent Dane earned $149,626.97 in 2011.

The figures listed by the city include base salary and all taxable benefits, such as shift differentials and allowances for vehicles, uniforms and equipment, as they would be listed on the employee’s T4 form filed with Revenue Canada. The disclosure forms can be viewed by anyone through the city clerk’s office. The documents were not posted to the city’s website.

While the city’s out-of-scope, or non-unionized employees are not generally paid overtime, the city paid them for overtime worked during the flood emergency because that cost could be recovered through disaster financial assistance payouts. For Atkinson, that meant an additional $8,393.54. Snure received $9,461.63. Dane’s overtime payment was $11,741.84.

"They were working in the (Emergency Operations Centre) doing engineering specs and the dikes were monitored 24/7 and the EOC was open 24/7," said the city’s human resources director, Vicki Fifi. "They were still trying to maintain their regular office jobs at the same time and were pulling some long shifts. It was determined it would be appropriate that they be paid for their flood-related work. But the overtime listed (in the report) is not just flood-related overtime and includes regular overtime.

"We were under no obligation to (report the overtime paid out) but we felt with all the flood overtime paid out that it would really skew the numbers if we didn’t do something to help explain why the numbers were radically different from different years."

Overtime paid to out-of-scope employees would all be flood-related, but the overtime paid to unionized employees would include non-flood overtime. Fifi said there was no way to differentiate between flood and non-flood overtime paid out.

It also meant that 50 more people were added to the required salary disclosure list than would have been otherwise.

"The first year we had to do this list (in the mid 1990s) there were a handful of people on this list," Fifi said. "This year there are 347 and there are a lot of people on this list. In Ontario, the salary threshold is $100,000 and in British Columbia, it’s $75,000. That threshold in Manitoba is really too low. This is the first year we’ve ever had casual labourers on this list."

In all, 347 city employees made $50,000 or more in 2011, up from 297 in 2010. Of those 347, 49 people needed overtime payouts to break the $50,000 threshold required to be on the list.

"We have casual labourers who have never been on this list before who are on this list," Fifi said. "It’s the overtime thrashed them over ($50,000) and it was probably the flood overtime. We also have some who are hovering at the $48,000 to $49,000 level where one year they will be on the list and another they won’t be."

For example, seasonal employee Stefan Woods made the least in regular earnings of anyone on the list with $38,996.62 and made $17,345.02 in overtime. Only 15 people made more in overtime earnings than Woods.

Another anomaly is Tim Benstead, the charge hand at the Wheat City Golf course who nearly doubled his $52,402.92 salary with $42,524.05 worth of overtime, earned while he was fighting flood water that claimed all but six holes of the golf course.

"With Tim, you have to look at what his responsibilities are out there (at the golf course)," Fifi said. "We all know the golf course suffered serious damage through the flood and he was in a situation where they are trying to rebuild the golf course. They spent most of their time rebuilding it last year and they are still working on it. He has some workers, not as many as they used to."

While the CUPE labour agreement with the city states overtime is to be offered out in equal amounts, Benstead’s staff declined to work some of the offered overtime, leaving Benstead to do the work himself.

"He also has some specialized skills that some casual labourers don’t have," Fifi said. "It kind of all falls to him."

Emergency services staff such as police officers and firefighter/paramedics are also heavily represented on the $50,000 list and several have racked up overtime hours. Fifi said that’s not unusual given the nature of their work and that those payments still enable the departments to meet their budgets.

"New staff would help alleviate overtime, but a lot of it comes from ambulance trips. If we get more folks working on the scene, it will help."

The disclosure report also included payments made to Brandon’s city council.

Mayor Shari Decter Hirst received $82,155.53 in compensation and other expense payments, with $70,402.73 being listed as compensation. In raw numbers, that’s down from the 2010 report, where in an election year, former mayor Dave Burgess claimed $76,593.07 in total compensation and other payments. His term ended in November of that year.

Decter Hirst was paid $13, 971.88 to finish the year, meaning Decter Hirst was paid $8,409.42 less in 2011 than the total amount paid to mayors in 2010.

Of councillors, Murray Blight (Victoria) received the most cash from city coffers, when his council salary of $19,442.08 is combined with $6,122.07 in other expenses, a total of $25,564.15. Blight said he was sent to two sets of meetings — one for the Canada Games bid, the other for the 2011 Federation of Canadian Municipalities national conference in Halifax, which is the reason his expenses are higher than any other councillor in that year.

Coun. Garth Rice was the most thrifty representative, making $17,683.20 for attending meetings and claiming $492.13 in other expenses, a total bill of $18,175.33. While Coun. Jim McCrae (Meadows) has the highest compensation rate of $21,124.30, related to his duties as deputy mayor that year, his were the most thrifty expense claims with only $210.71 being billed to the city.

» kborkowsky@brandonsun.com

In 2011, Brandon City Council received the following payouts:

Compensation Other Payment Total

Mayor Shari Decter Hirst $70,402.73 $11,752.80 $82,155.63

Murray Blight $19,442.08 $6,122.07 $25,564.15

Shawn Berry $19,356.97 $3,564.40 $22,921.37

Jim McCrae $21,124.30 $210.71 $21,355.01

Jan Chaboyer $18,258.04 $874.82 $19,132.86

Len Isleifson $18,003.09 $1,083.78 $19,086.87

Jeff Fawcett $17,883.04 $1,196.11 $19,079.15

Corey Roberts $17,508.04 $1,521.43 $19,029.47

Jeff Harwood $17,683.20 $1,112.75 $18,795.95

Stephen Montague $17,958.04 $635.58 $18,593.62

Garth Rice $17,683.20 $492.13 $18,175.33

Here are the 10 highest-paid city employees in 2011:

Total Earnings (Overtime)

*Dave Pope, Fire Captain, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services $181,394.00 ($25,623.60)

Keith Atkinson, Police Chief $156,664.48 ($8,393.54)

**Ted Snure, GM of Development Services $150,112.75 ($9,461.63)

Brent Dane, Fire Chief $149,626.97 ($11,741.84)

Ian Grant, Inspector (on secondment), Brandon Police Service $135,701.34 ($5,024.64)

Rod Sage, GM of Operational Services $134,317.03 ($14,609.25)

Shane Corley, Inspector, Brandon Police Service $133,543.79 ($3,442.79)

Ian Christiansen, Director, Engineering and Water Resources $131,694.46 ($15,879.88)

Joni Swidnicki, Deputy City Clerk (on secondment) $130,650.16 ($0)

Steve Romanik, Deputy Fire Chief $128,515.64 ($8,279.99)

Employees who are "out-of-scope" or non-unionized are not generally paid overtime, but were during the 2011 flood as it was a claimable expense under disaster financial assistance. The overtime payout is included in the total earnings.

Notes:

*Pope’s earnings include a mandatory payout upon his retirement of his available sick leave benefits-

**Snure was also acting city manager during the flood.

» City of Brandon

Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition June 28, 2012