Council has approved a 4.5 per cent raise for the city’s top administrator.
City manager Bill Holtby’s salary has been raised to $202,227, up from $193,500 last year. Council approved the changes, part of an annual performance review, after an in camera session Monday night.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said the annual review has been a mandatory part of Holtby’s contract, which he signed in 2001. Crouse said the review process started in January, and while the major decisions have been made, more discussion needs to take place.
“We have some follow up work to do,” he said. “We have the process where we provide the feedback to the review.”
The raise is retroactive to April 1 and ensures Holtby remains the city’s highest paid employee. Chief financial officer Dean Screpnek said no changes have been approved to Holtby’s benefits or other financial aspects of his contract. No other details were provided about the decision.
The city manager’s raise comes a month after council approved an average 3.9 per cent wage hike for non-union employees.
Coun. Gareth Jones said council considered a number of factors during the review, including the process used to determine raises for non-union staff.
“As a council, we looked at all the aspects — not just Bill’s performance, but also economic factors,” he said. “It was an unanimous vote.”
When asked to comment on the salary increase itself, neither the mayor nor several councillors contacted responded, citing privacy reasons.
