Daily BrewMetro Vancouver transit CEO’s compensation drives critics to distraction
There was the $30,000 towards the “poodle on a pole” public art installation. There was the $4.5-million park-and-ride where almost nobody parks and rides.
And then there was the $170-million fare card system that is $24 million over budget, two years behind schedule and still not up and running.
Now the agency that runs Metro Vancouver’s public transit system has spurred a whole new round of TransLink trashing with an online ad for a new CEO.
The ad posted last week outlines a base salary of $319,244, plus an annual bonus that could bring the total to just over $415,000. The position includes a $2,500 wellness allowance, a $14,400 transportation allowance and $1,200 for parking.
“I think it shows the complete disregard the TransLink board has for the taxpayer,” says Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the agency’s most ardent critic.
“We’ve been searching for a transit system boss somewhere in North America who makes more [in total compensation]… . We haven’t been able to find one yet.”
The ad fails to mention that the two previous CEOs were dumped to quell public outcry.
The first, Ian Jarvis, was demoted to an “advisor” in February as TransLink tried to convince taxpayers ahead of an important funding plebiscite that the much-maligned organization was ready for change.
The ad to replace interim CEO, Doug Allen, went up after taxpayers voted a resounding “No” in the plebiscite, seen largely as a referendum on TransLink’s management.
Sixty-two per cent of Metro Vancouver taxpayers voted against a 0.5 per cent regional transit tax that would have raised $7.5 billion over 10 years to fund public transit improvements.
B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone issued a statement saying he was “very disappointed” with the compensation package outlined in the ad.
The recent plebiscite shows that taxpayers expect TransLink to be run as efficiently as possible, Stone says.
“This must start with executive compensation,” he says in the emailed statement, adding that the province expects the compensation package for the next CEO to be “significantly less” than that of the previous.
Provincial executive compensation guidelines say Crown corporations like TransLink should phase out bonuses.
“The selection of a new CEO is potentially the most important opportunity TransLink has to regain the public’s trust. It is up to the board to review its approach to its CEO search process — including compensation levels — to make sure it contributes to this goal,” Stone says.
“It’s shocking to me that the minister has to remind TransLink of the rules,” Bateman says. “If you’re going to change it, this is the time.”
Jarvis, the deposed CEO of TransLink, earned a total of $468,000 in 2013.
For comparison, Toronto Transit Commission CEO Andy Byford earned $345,000 last year, plus $14,500 in taxable benefits, according to the Ontario government’s “sunshine list.”
Before he was fired, Carl Desrosiers, director-general of the Société de transport de Montréal, earned $327,300 in 2014, according to reports in the Montreal Gazette.
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Seattle’s transit manager made $191,600 in 2012 — $203,000 less than Metro Vancouver’s that year.
The group says CEO of Portland, Ore., TriMet earns $228,000 a year.
Jarvis, now a consultant, continues to receive his full salary until the end of his contract in June 2016.
The CEO posting on WorkBC raised some eyebrows on social media.
“Maybe it’s time we just wax our eyebrows right off. Quicker fix than expecting #translink to improve, ever,” tweeted Madam VonShamecave.
“The two things that Vancouverites like to talk about: the weather and the incompetency of our public transportation system,” added Stephanieee.
Anyone interested in the lucrative public transit posting has until Nov. 19 to apply.
