Severance payout for two top Kamloops bureaucrats remains a mystery

Two of the highest paid bureaucrats in Kamloops left their jobs this summer, but taxpayers don’t get to know what it cost.

Kamloops-Thompson school district’s former superintendent resigned last month on the heels of a workplace bullying investigation. Officially, it was due to family reasons and the school district won’t admit the investigation occurred at all.

The school district refused to provide any records in response to a Freedom of Information request for both Rhonda Nixon’s severance agreement, and a workplace bullying investigation initiated by the union.

Just as the City of Kamloops did last week, the school district said the severance agreement with its highest-paid employee is protected by settlement privilege. The common law rule means it’s “not subject to disclosure,” according to the school district.

The Kamloops’ chief administrative officer also resigned recently, but it was under different circumstances.

According to a city news release, David Trawin directly blamed Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson for making his job “unsustainable and untenable,” which lead to his departure.

It’s not uncommon for government bodies to release severance agreements with former employees, especially high profile ones.

The most notable recent example in the Kamloops area was the Thompson Nicola Regional District’s former CAO Sukh Gill, whose roughly $600,000 severance was initially announced as a retirement. The conditions, including his payout, weren’t released until revealed through a Freedom of Information request in 2020.

Even more recently, Fraser Health refused to provide any details about its former CEO’s firing earlier this year, but publicly posted financial documents later revealed a $600,000 severance.

It appears the willingness of local governments to release such agreements changed in 2021 after a ruling by the Office of the Privacy and Information Commissioner.

The decision, specifically cited by the City of Kamloops, allowed City of White Rock to refuse disclosure of five separate severance agreements, citing settlement privilege.

As for the workplace investigation, School District 73 wouldn’t confirm it exists due to privacy law surrounding employment matters. That’s despite the union’s leaked letter that specifically stated Nixon’s departure was directly related to the bullying and harassment investigation.