New Westminster city council’s expenses took a dive in 2020.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, conferences and in-person gatherings came to a screeching halt. And that shows in the newly released schedule of council remuneration and expenses that are included in the city’s 2020 statement of financial information.
In 2020, the total cost of expenses for conferences, training seminars and community events for all seven members of council was $2,426. Contrast that to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when the tab totalled $51,289.
While council expenses dropped dramatically from 2019 to 2020, its pay inched up in 2020. The tab for council remuneration (excluding expenses) was $460,425 in 2020, compared to $453,050 the year before.
Mayor Jonathan Cote had remuneration of $134,135 in 2020, compared to $133,596 in 2019.
In 2020, Coun. Nadine Nakagawa was paid $55,382, while councillors Patrick Johnstone, Chuck Puchmayr, Mary Trentadue and Chinu Das had remuneration of $54,382. Coun. Jaimie McEvoy was paid $53,382.
In addition to their remuneration, councillors receive an additional $1,000 for every month they serve as acting mayor. (The last review of council remuneration was in 2019.)
Cities are required to submit a statement of financial information (SOFI) each year. In addition to council remuneration and expenses, the SOFI also includes items such as the remuneration of city employees earning $75,000 or more, any severance agreements with employees, suppliers of goods and services of over $25,000 and audited consolidated financial statements.
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