July 7,2010 Surrey Leader

TransLink's nine-member board of directors collected $545,000 in combined pay and expenses last year.

That's about $30,000 less than the previous year, financial disclosures indicate.

The province eliminated the old board of mayors and councillors who oversaw TransLink until late 2007 and replaced them with a set of appointed, unelected directors, most of whom are business-oriented professionals or academics.

The switch was intended to de-politicize TransLink decision-making.

Board chair Dale Parker received a flat $100,000 stipend and claimed an additional $1,241 in expenses.

Directors each get an annual base fee of $25,000, plus another $1,200 for every meeting they attend, plus up to $8,000 for chairing committees.

Director Bruce Garnett, who attended the most meetings, collected the biggest pay packet – $58,050 in 2009.

Others received between $46,650 and $56,800.

Only two directors claimed any expenses – Nancy Olewiler ($54.45) and Garnett ($100).

TransLink also released details of its salary and expense payouts to employees for 2009.

They show 115 employees were paid more than $100,000 last year.

Fifty of the employees listed as earning six figures plus were Transit Police officers, and the gross earnings listed for them in many cases included banked time payouts.

Former CEO Tom Prendergast, who resigned last November, took home $332,000 in pay plus another $136,000 in expenses.

Sheri-Lyn Plewes, a senior vice-president who was among the executives terminated late last year under a cost-cutting drive, was paid $339,000 plus $16,500 in expenses. Counted in her pay was $100,000 in banked time payouts.

Ian Jarvis, then chief financial officer, was paid $275,000 plus $16,000 in expenses. He has since taken over as CEO.

Other top-paid TransLink executives in 2009 included engineering and project services director Michelle Blake ($234,000), former human resources vice-president John Madden ($221,600), major construction vice-president Fred Cummings ($218,600) and corporate and public affairs vice-president Bob Paddon ($217,900).

TransLink employee salaries totalled $38.4 million last year.