Salary Too High for Economic Development Manager

That's gotta be it.
He must earn too much money as a bureaucrat.

Vernon's ECM, Kevin Poole, stated in The Morning Star today--of MoneySense magazine's Vernon rating at 125 of 201 communities--"They are putting a lot of weight on the average income.  If that's how you establish quality of life, we'll never compete."

Duh!
Ya think?

For many people, it's tough slogging to appreciate the nearby lakes and ski hills when there's simply nothing left for discretionary spending, and bill payments are frequently late.  When they worry about how much property taxes--or the hydro bill--will increase this year.  When their adult children worry about job security in a town where For Lease and For Rent and For Sale signs outnumber welcome signs from new business.

The full ranking is here.

Vernon's unemployment rate is given at 9.2 per cent, and most of the winning communities are oil and gas communities in Alberta:  St. Albert, first place; Calgary, second; and Strathcona, Alberta, at third place.

The average household income in Vernon is $70,229, a far cry from St. Albert's $128,270.
Discretionary income in Vernon is $35,054.90.  Compare that to St. Albert's at $64,865.86.

"How they select the items for quality of life is beyond me," moans Poole.
Yet he does feel there's sufficient disparity that Vernon needs a renewed focus on economic development.

Yup, it sure is beyond him.
And his salary--as a Vernon bureaucrat--is no doubt beyond that of the vast majority of Vernon's residents.

"It's an interesting analysis but I don't put a lot of emphasis on it," states Poole.

"Of course not," says Kia, "that would be akin to a performance review."

So, we'll never compete, according to Poole.

"Hate bureaucracy, and the bureaucrats that practise it."

Jack Welch, former Chairman, GM