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Council approves increase for Tbaytel board

Compensation for directors of the municipally-owned telecom will be raised for first time in 15 years.
TbayTel Fibre

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council has approved an increase in compensation for members of Tbaytel’s board of directors.

The previous $6,000 stipend for directors hadn’t changed since 2006, said board chair Jack Jamieson in a memo to city council. The board requested the figure be raised to $7,600, based on national cost of living increases in the 15 years since.

Councillors unanimously approved the increases Monday, pointing to strong financial results from the municipally-owned telecommunications company and the strong qualifications of the eight-member board.

The motion passed by council also provides for yearly cost of living increases going forward, ups the rate for each 3.5 hour period of extra work directors put in from $250 to $320, and raises the chair’s compensation from $7,800 to $9,900. The changes are expected to cost the company $42,000 per year.

Coun. Brian Hamilton said the board had overseen “excellent performance” by the company, making him happy to support the increase.

The city receives an annual fixed $18 million dividend from the company.

Coun. Kristen Oliver alluded to the expertise of the board, which includes lawyers, chartered professional accountants, a professional engineer, and several corporate executives, among others.

“You could have put a respectable board of Bell together from the people we’ve had,” said Jamieson.

One of the rationales for the increase was to ensure the body could continue attracting top talent, he wrote in his letter to council.

“Tbaytel’s increased complexity requires very specific expertise to govern efficiently and to protect the City’s asset,” he stated. “Canadian corporations of similar size and complexity have higher remuneration and that gap will eventually become an impediment to attracting best in class board members.”



Ian Kaufman

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