Six-figure club grows at city hall

Last year 105 Richmond City Hall bureaucrats earned six-figure salaries, according to financial documents.

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Salaries are up but expenses dropped last year at Richmond City Hall, according to recently released financial statements.

City council claimed $15,970 in expenses in 2011, while membership to the six-figure-salary club among civic bureaucrats continued to climb.

Former councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt proved to be the biggest spender on council, claiming $3,200 in expenses and $4,779.16 in benefits, in addition to earning $50,589 in salary before retiring in November.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie claimed $2,437 in expenses, earned $8,963 in benefits and took home $108,716 in salary.

Overall, council's expenses are just one-third the amount recorded in 2010. Among the penny-pinchers were Richmond First councillors, including skinflint Coun. Derek Dang, who charged taxpayers just $315.

Among city staff, 494 earned over $75,000 last year. Two years ago, just 393 staff met that mark.

Richmond’s annual public financial report details all wage earners over $75,000. Included in that growing group are 105 senior staffers with six-figure salaries—11 more than last year.

In all, 1,916 employees earned a total of $100.8 million last year while recording $857,677 in expenses. That's 70 more employees than the previous year, but total staff expenses dropped by one-third.

Greg Scott, director of the major projects office, claimed the most expenses among bureaucrats at $11,782. Some other senior staff came close: $9,230 for Carol Hama, manager of people development; $9,204 for Cecilia Achiam, interim director of sustainability and district energy; $8,861 for Cindy Gilfillan, capital analyst supervisor; $8,631 for human resources manager Karina Lapalme; and $8,338 for city solicitor Doug Long.

2011 city council expenses

•Greg Halsey-Brandt (former councillor): $3,200

•Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt: $3,064

•Coun. Linda Barnes: $2,688

•Mayor Malcolm Brodie: $2,437

•Coun. Harold Steves: $1,789

•Coun. Bill McNulty: $1,222

•Coun. Ken Johnston: $826

•Sue Halsey-Brandt (former councillor): $430

•Coun. Derek Dang: $315

•Chak Au (sworn in Dec. 5): $0

•Coun. Linda McPhail (sworn in Dec. 5): $0