Top job at Penticton city hall a bargain compared to Vernon’s

PENTICTON – A comparison of wages and expenses between the councils and top wage earners at the City of Penticton and the City of Vernon reveals little difference, according to this year’s statement of financial information reports.

The biggest difference in wages appears to be the chief administrative officer’s salary, which is more than $40,000 less in the City of Penticton. The top wage earner in Vernon — chief administrative officer William Pearce — eclipsed his Penticton counterpart in wages last year, drawing $204,837 in salary compared to Penticton CAO Peter Weeber, who said his annual wage was “around $160,00."

Weeber was hired by the City of Penticton midway through 2016.

Penticton and Vernon are similar in size, in terms of population. Penticton had a population of about 33,000 in 2016 compared to Vernon's just over 40,000.

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit of Penticton took home $65,067 in salary in 2016, compared to Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund’s $71,228. The two mayors' expenses were nearly identical, at $3,956 for Jakubeit and $3,953 for Mund.

Penticton councillors racked up a total of $202,935 in salaries in 2016, compared to Vernon councillors who took home $215,518 in remuneration. But Penticton council racked up $19,712 in expenses compared to Vernon council’s $17,562.

The City of Penticton paid its 97 employees more than $75,000 in salary last year, compared to 107 employees at Vernon city hall made that much or more in 2016.

The total payroll for all of Penticton’s employees in 2016 was 21,200,267, while Vernon paid out $22,774,588.

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