Who gave mayor’s aide a $30,000 raise?
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...a-30-000-raise
The city’s human resources director says Mayor Bob Bratina triggered the $30,000 pay hike for his chief of staff, Peggy Chapman.
An email from HR director Helen Hale Tomasik circulated among councillors Wednesday says Bratina asked for the salary ranges of previous chiefs of staff, then boosted Chapman’s salary by 33 per cent. Her new salary is $120,000.
Bratina, on the other hand, says Chapman’s raise was instigated by the HR department after a performance evaluation.
“HR evaluates everything. I didn’t ask for it,” Bratina said at a Spectator editorial board meeting Wednesday. “It came from HR. They said ‘These are the amounts,’ and that’s how it came.”
Bratina, who said he’s still adjusting his office structure after his first year in office, said Chapman had been underpaid for the past year based on her workload and responsibilities.
“The citizens have got a $30,000 bonus,” he told The Spectator’s editorial board.
However, Bratina also sent an email to council less than two hours after leaving The Spectator meeting that aligns with Hale Tomasik’s version of events.
“The annual performance review of my staff included information on salary bands paid to former Chiefs of Staff which was provided by HR,” Bratina wrote in the email, which was obtained by The Spectator. “The result was that I adjusted the salary of the Chief of Staff to reflect the scope of responsibility within the role.”
Hale Tomasik’s email said the mayor’s office “approached HR and requested data on the salary ranges paid to prior Chiefs of Staff, which HR provided.”
“The Mayor reviewed the information provided by HR, reflected on the scope of her role being a combination of 3 roles in his predecessor’s office, and along with his evaluation of Peggy’s performance, determined the salary through her contract renewal negotiation and advised HR accordingly,” Hale Tomasik wrote.
Bratina declined to comment about the emails, saying it was an HR privacy issue.