After weeks of deliberation and hearings, Harrison Hot Springs officials have adopted a new remuneration bylaw for mayor and council.
The council voted unanimously in favour of the bylaw during the April 17 council meeting at Memorial Hall.
Among the most discussed portions of the most recent four-year financial plan for the village was a remuneration increase for mayor and council. There has not been a raise for mayor and council since 2011.
With the new bylaw adopted, the mayor’s pay goes from $30,000 to $41,691. Pay for councillors rises from $15,000 to $20,486.
Meal allowances would go up by $10 each, ranging from $30 to $50.
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The new bylaw allows for a $50 cell phone usage allowance; the draft budget did not have a specific line item for cell phone usage allowances, and the remuneration bylaw only indicated that there would be an allowance. Wood said he believed the specifics of the cell phone allowance “probably happened in a closed meeting” but did not offer evidence to support that claim.
Wood further wished to have the updated bylaw disclose any monies mayor and council may receive from committee participation outside of regular council and village business.
In addition, mayor and councillors may be provided with a laptop computer from the village or given an annual allowance of up to $1,000 for an “eligible electronic device.” Reimbursement-eligible purchases include laptops, tablets and smartphones.
One of two petitions circulating in the village recently was a call for council to rescind the 30-per cent pay raise and subsequent allowance increases that they approved during a Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this year. The petition garnered approximately 180 signatures – about one per cent of the village’s population.
In other council business:
– One item from the closed meeting just before Monday’s public meeting has been released. During the in-camera session, councillors decided Vidal would act as deputy mayor for the rest of the year and for the year 2025 while Coun. Leo Facio would act as deputy mayor in 2024 and 2026.
During the April 3 meeting, it was reported Couns. John Buckley and Allan Jackson requested to be removed from the deputy mayor rotation. During the public meeting on April 3, Wood initially moved to have Vidal take over as deputy mayor for the next three months, rather than the rest of the year. This motion failed due to a lack of a seconder.
Wood claimed the decision council made on April 17 should not have been made in a closed meeting and it was only the mayor who could nominated deputy mayors. He ruled the motion out of order.
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– Council voted to change the pay parking rates to be the same in Zone 1 and Zone 2. Under this option, the parking rates in Zone 1 would be $2 for hour one, $3 for hour 2, $4 for hour 3 and $5 for hour 4, totalling $14 for a maximum of four hours. The same rates apply in Zone 2 with the option of paying $20 for the day. Zone 1 consists of St. Alice Street, Hot Springs Road, Esplanade Avenue west of Hot Springs Road; Zone 2 is Esplanade Avenue, streets between Esplanade Avenue and Lillooet Avenues, including Maple Street, Chehalis Street and Spruce Street. The vote was 3-2, Couns. Facio and Vidal opposed.
– Council approved amending the Park Regulation Bylaw to allow for canopy tents no larger than 12 feet by 12 feet and that they be anchored to the ground on the beachfront.
– Council received the 2022 Bylaw Enforcement Services Annual Report for information.
– Coun. Jackson said the Canada Day committee has met and they are now accepting entrants for the parade. Interested parties can contact Jackson at ajackson@harrisonhotsprings.ca or Tourism Harrison River Valley at 604-796-5581.
The next regular Harrison Hot Springs Village Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 1, at 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall (290 Esplanade Avenue). Venue may be subject to change; check in at www.agassizharrisonobserver.com for any updates.
Online attendance is also available via Zoom; those interested can register through harrisonhotsprings.ca. Video recordings of the meetings will be archived on the village’s YouTube page.