More than 200 City of Kelowna employees cashed cheques exceeding $100,000 in 2021

Photo: Castanet/file

The City of Kelowna's payroll has topped out in excess of $100 million for the first time.

In a full accounting of city spending released this week, city employees were compensated to the tune of $101.527 million in 2021.

That works out to slightly more than 64 per cent of the 2021 budgeted tax demand of $157.7 million.

Those figures include both salary paid ($85.087 million) and benefits ($16.439 million).

By comparison, the total payroll including benefits in 2020 sat at $92.4 million.

The financial statement is required to be prepared and made public prior to the end of June each year.

Along with overall numbers, it includes the number of employees earning better than $75,000 over the calendar year.

According to the report, approximately half of the more than 1,000 city employees now earn better than $75,000 annually.

In 2021, 525 staff topped the $75,000 threshold, 43 more than in 2020. That increase included nine management, 10 firefighters and 24 CUPE members.

The big jump came in employees earning more than $100,000 annually. That figure grew from 167 in 2020 to 204 last year.

In 2021, 91 management personnel, 100 firefighters and 14 CUPE employees topped $100,000 in salary.

City manager Doug Gilchrist, the head of the city corporation again tops the list of wage earners, bringing in $306.371 last year, the first time any employee has exceeded the $300,000 threshold.

Deputy city manager Joe Creron is number two on the list at $209,680.

The rest of the top 10 include:

• Sam Samaddar, airport manager - $202,002
• Stu Leatherdale, director of corporate and protective services - $197,318
• Travis Whiting, fire chief - $195,067
• Carla Weadon, director corporate strategic services - $193,046
• Jim Gabriel, director active living and culture - $186,777
• Genelle Davidson, director of finance - $185,670
• Derek Edstrom, director partnerships and investments - $182,063
• Scott Conquist, deputy fire chief - $180,909

City council remuneration for 2021 topped $416,000. Mayor Basran pulled in $110,986 plus nearly $11,000 in expenses.

Four councillors earned $37,972 and four others $38,322.

The city also paid out more than $362.9 million to suppliers, including other agencies and governments in which it collects taxes for.

Emil Anderson Construction was the largest independent supplies, earning more than $11 million from city contracts.