Highest earner at Kamloops city hall got $60K raise

Kamloops city hall has been operating with two city managers. While one is on leave, the other took home a hefty raise last year.

CAO Byron McCorkell was paid just over $300,000 in 2024, up from $241,300 in 2023.

That’s according to the city’s annual financial report, which details the salaries and benefits for each employee earning more than $75,000 per year.

In less than two years, McCorkell has gone from the newly-created deputy CAO to acting CAO and now, simply, CAO, sitting at the top of the hierarchy.

Meanwhile, David Trawin took an extended leave in February 2024 and there’s been no word on whether he will return. In 2023, Trawin took home around $307,000 in salary, dropping to $216,669 last year while on medical leave.

They are just two of the hundreds of city of Kamloops employees who earned a combined $82.5 million in 2024. That’s up from the $73.8 million a year before, according to the annual report.

The largest share went to union employees at $49.2 million including salaries and benefits. They collectively earned 11.5 per cent more than they did in 2023.

City management, meanwhile, took home a total $15.6 million in 2024. That’s the largest combined increase compared to union staff and firefighters with a 13% jump from 2023.

Firefighters earned a combined total of $16.3 million, which is up by just under 6% from 2023, but unionized firefighters also earned an average $21,000 in retroactive pay due to a contract agreement.

The highest retroactive pay went to communications operator Jenna Stouse at $47,167, while the lowest went to firefighter Samuel Pridmore at $6,144. The grand total amounted to $2.8 million.

Among elected officials, Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson earned around $120,000, according to the report. That’s despite his widely known salary reductions imposed by council.

Each councillor earned $52,333, but their expenses were higher the Hamer-Jackson’s.

The mayor expensed $3,101 and the next highest were councillors Margot Middleton with $5,259 and Stephen Karpuk with $6,026. The two highest were Nancy Bepple with $12,893 and Bill Sarai with $12,368.

In 2023, Hamer-Jackson topped the expenses list with $11,207, while councillor expenses ranged from $4,452 to $9,941.