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Langley City Councillor expenses ranged from $12,000 to $174: report

What made the difference was attending conferences
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Langley City councillors Rosemary Wallace and Nathan Pachal (Undated Langley City photos)

Langley City Coun. Rosemary Wallace recorded $12,000 in expenses last year, the most of any member of council.

It was the result, Wallace said, of being elected to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) environmental and international relations committees in 2019.

“Unfortunately, all of the meetings [last year] were back east,” Wallace told the Langley Advance Times.

Wallace said the costs will likely be less this year, with the FCM moving to video conferencing.

“Our last five meeting have been virtual,” Wallace estimated.

FCM is an advocacy group representing more than 2,000 Canadian municipalities, the main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal officials.

A smaller portion of the Wallace claim was attending the “Livable Cites” conference in Victoria, something she termed a valuable, “educational” experience.

At the other end of the spectrum, Coun. Nathan Pachal filed the smallest expense claim of the year at just $147, the result, he said, of attending the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference for just one day and giving other municipal conferences a pass.

“2019 was busy [for me],” Pachal commented.

READ ALSO: Langley City raises pay for mayor and council

As required by law, the City has released its annual financial report for members of council and staff making more than $75,000 a year.

Mayor Val van den Broek recorded $135,000 in remuneration and expenses while members of council (in alphabetical order) reported the following combined amounts:

Paul Albrecht $63,000, Teri James $57,000, Gayle Martin $60,000, Nathan Pachal $54,000, Rudy Storteboom $65,000, and Rosemary Wallace $66,000.

The three highest-paid senior staffers were Chief Administrative Officer Francis Cheung, reporting $248,000 in remuneration and expenses combined, Darrin Leite, Director of Corporate Services at $173,000 and Rick Bomhof, Director of Engineering, Parks and Environment at $171,000.

READ ALSO: Metro Vancouver board salaries top $1.1 million in 2019

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Under B.C. law, municipalities are required to report remuneration and expenses claims by elected officials and staff once a year.



dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com

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Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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