City of Powell River councillors have approved the city’s 2022 statement of financial information (SOFI) for submission to the provincial ministry of municipal affairs.
At the June 22 city council meeting, manager of financial services Ryan Youngman outlined the report and said the Financial Information Act requires municipalities to prepare the statement.
“It is commonly referred to as the SOFI report, to be filed with the ministry of municipal affairs by June 30 each year,” said Youngman. “The requirements of the SOFI report are set out in the financial information regulations, which is enacted pursuant to the Financial Information Act.
“The report must be approved by the chief financial officer and city council before being submitted to the ministry. The SOFI report contains information such as the consolidated statement of financial information and the schedule of remuneration and expenses, which lists all the remuneration and expenses for elected officials, as well as for city staff who have earned $75,000 or more during the year.”
Also accounted for are employee expenses, which include items such as training and professional dues, said Youngman.
The schedule of supplier goods and services also lists suppliers who have been paid $25,000 or more by the city during the year.
“It’s worth noting that the presentation of the city’s financial statements and the SOFI report are slightly different,” said Youngman. “The financial statements are presented in accordance with public sector accounting standards, which is an accrual basis form of accounting. The SOFI report is presented in accordance with the financial information regulations, which requires a cash basis for accounting.
“To summarize, I’m requesting that the 2022 SOFI report be approved for submission to the ministry of municipal affairs, and that the mayor and chief financial officer be authorized to sign the SOFI approval form,” said Youngman.
Council unanimously carried a motion that the SOFI report be approved for submission to the ministry of municipal affairs and that the mayor and chief financial officer be authorized to sign the SOFI approval form.
According to the SOFI documentation, because 2022 was an election year, there were 10 elected officials who collected remuneration from the city. In total, the expenditure for remuneration for both mayors and the eight councillors was $235,800, and they had $33,104 in expenses.
There were 66 city employees earning $75,000 or more. Their wages totalled $7,131,475, with expenses of $155,013. The total remuneration for the rest of the city’s employees was $8,756,441, with expenses of $141,349.
In total, the city paid $15,887,916 in remuneration, including employee deductions, and expenses of $396,362 to all its employees.
In terms of suppliers of goods and services over $25,000, there were 112, adding up to $79,735,263. The biggest allocation was $58,500,828 to Graham Infrastructure LP for construction of the consolidated wastewater treatment plant. Other notables included $3,247,739 to Associated Engineering (BC) Ltd, also for the wastewater plant.
BC Hydro collected $1,171.231 from the city. FortisBC Holdings’ payout was $220,862. Telus Communications received $112,604, while Telus Mobility received $62,017.
Consolidated total of payments of $25,000 or less paid to suppliers amounted to $2,220,957, for a total of $82,947,896, including $991,677 for all grants exceeding $25,000.
