Kamloops mayor’s earns half his normal income due to imposed cuts

A Kamloops mayor would normally earn well over $100,000 in a year with their city salary and other roles, but Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s term wouldn’t be described as normal.

With his base salary cut by 40 per cent and getting the boot from the regional district board, a single two-week pay cheque earned him $1,130 at the end of April.

“In any other world, it’s called constructive dismissal,” he said.

Speaking with iNFOnews.ca he said some of those biweekly cheques vary, with the next amounting to $2,700. He couldn’t explain the discrepancy between two pay periods, only saying “this whole thing is weird.”

Kamloops city staff did not respond to iNFOnews.ca when asked about Hamer-Jackson’s current salary cut, but a recently published letter from council to BC Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon pointed to a 40% reduction as of February. Assuming that reduction remains unchanged, a 40% reduction would equate to a $70,375 annual salary, slightly more than the highest paid councillor earned in 2023.

Although Hamer-Jackson said the cuts would amount to constructive dismissal if he were an employee, he’s accused of risking multiple constructive dismissal suits against the city itself due to his own actions, according to the letter to Kahlon.

His first full year in office was 2023 and he earned a combined $135,878 in those 12 months. That includes council representation elsewhere, like a nearly $17,000 stipend from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

Meanwhile, his money troubles are no secret to the public. Hamer-Jackson has put his house, his boat and his business property up for sale and he’s facing lawsuits from two former lawyers due to unpaid legal bills.

His salary reductions and removal from outside boards came as a consequence of three code of conduct investigations and his subsequent refusal to sign apology letters to councillors or change his behaviour. Still, it leaves him earning more than any councillor at Kamloops city hall.

They each earned $46,916 with their base city salary and by combining duties at the regional district and hospital board, Coun Mike O’Reilly was the highest earner with $67,802. One of the main differences between the two jobs, however, is that the mayor is the only one generally equated to a full-time position.

The city’s so-called sunshine list will be posted later this month, which will show a substantial reduction in the mayor’s earnings that started halfway through the year that progressively clawed back more over time. The first was in June 2024 with a 10% reduction due to his refusal to sign an apology letter for Coun. Katie Neustaeter or take an assigned workplace conduct course.