Fire Chief John McKearney was the top earner at City of Vancouver in 2013, bringing in $347,762, according to the Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) released May 22.
McKearney was also reimbursed for the most expenses at $10,654.
At city hall, city manager Penny Ballem was paid $339,219 and she expensed $5,513, almost $3,000 less than Mayor Gregor Robertson’s chief of staff, Mike Magee. Magee charged $8,414 and was paid $128,004.
Among the dozen officials paid in excess of $200,000, the top earners included city solicitor Francie Connell ($301,117), chief financial officer Patrice Impey ($271,708) and deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston ($263,329).
Police Chief Jim Chu’s salary ($313,653 in 2012 plus $12,276 expenses) is reported elsewhere.
Overall, 2,000 people were paid $75,000 or more by Vancouver taxpayers. According to a data analysis by CityHallWatch, the number of staffers earning $100,000 or more for the period ending Dec. 31, 2013 was 588.
Robertson was the highest-paid elected official at $148,849 plus $20,982 in expenses. The expenses included $7,175 for a transportation allowance, even though he prefers to use a bicycle.
The city brought in $1.488 billion and spent $1.3 billion, leaving a $180.6 million surplus. The accumulated surplus increased to $6.13 billion. The city also reported $789.1 million in long-term debt.
Vancouver Economic Commission received $4,014,735 in transfers. The 22 area business associations were paid $9,429,274, of which Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association received the biggest slice ($2,410,733) of the dues collected by the city from merchants.
The report attached to the SOFI from financial services general manager Esther Lee was dated April 25 — three days before Robertson announced Aquilini Investment Group paid $91 million to take over the city’s interest as secured creditor of Southeast False Creek Properties, the company that developed the Olympic Village. The Aquilini deal included the 67 remaining units in the waterfront Canada House section of what is now branded the Village on False Creek.
The report refers to the deal, but the numbers are not included.
“The estimated net proceeds are expected to exceed the value of the assets sold and along with the cash proceeds from prior sales will completely repay the city’s borrowing for the market project,” said the SOFI.
The financial report said that at the end of 2013, the city had $79.4 million in cash “set aside in a reserve for the repayment of the $150 million debenture due June 2014.”
Robertson claimed on April 28 that the city would end up with a $70 million surplus, but later admitted that didn’t include the $170 million that developer Millennium failed to pay for the land.
