Revelstoke election pay policy won’t impact long-term budget

Revelstoke city hall in early night lighting. The building is a large white box shape with two floors. The entrance is sunken into the face of the building. — Compensation for Revelstoke’s upcoming election was on the agenda at a Jan. 27 council meeting. **Photo by Lys Morton/Revelstoke Mountaineer**

Municipalities, regional districts and school boards across B.C. will be hosting general elections throughout September and October, and work is already underway to prepare for voting day in Revelstoke.

While Elections BC supports general elections with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, local governing bodies are responsible for managing nominations, voting and result tallying.

The City of Revelstoke will manage its own elections, along with Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) Area B director elections and School District 19 trustee elections.

In the absence of the provincial Local Government Act reimbursement framework, council unanimously approved the Election Official Remuneration policy to clarify payment for election work.

“Previous administrators have reached out to other organizations to see what they’re paying to make sure that it’s fair and equitable,” Cindy Floyd, director of corporate services explained at a Jan. 27 council meeting.

The policy could free up staff time trying to calculate and distribute reimbursements for internal and external election positions.

The new remuneration policy won’t impact the current 2026-2040 long-term financial plan as costs for election official reimbursement had already been worked into the budget, and portions might be covered by the CSRD and School District 19.

From election training sessions to managing election days, most election work and preparation falls outside staff hours. Along with staff working election tasks, the local chief election official can bring in external contractors to help.

Revelstoke’s proposed policy called for staff to receive their regular hourly rate for all election hours worked, including overtime hours and for contractor positions to be paid based on role. This follows the same route that the CSRD has taken, with other municipalities instead banking hours to be used at a later date.

Nominations for council, mayor, regional district directors and school boards trustees open Thursday, Sept. 1 and campaigning starts Saturday, Sept. 19. Advanced voting opens in Revelstoke Wednesday, Oct. 7 and 14, with general election day hosted Saturday, Oct. 17. The new council will have its first meeting Monday, Nov. 2.