Ex-chief paid $240,000: audit
Peguis resident calls it 'totally outrageous and unacceptable'
Sat Feb 2 2008
By Bill Redekop
Former Peguis First Nation chief Louis Stevenson.
'I think the band got a pretty good return on its money for my representation'
--Louis Stevenson
LOUIS Stevenson, who ruled Peguis First Nation for 25 years before being ousted last spring, was paid more than $240,000 in his final year as chief of the Interlake reserve, a band audit shows.
Stevenson also received an additional $133,000 for travel expenses -- which works out to more than $350 a day for every day of the year.
The findings in the band audit have sparked angry words on Peguis, one of the province's largest reserves, located about 190 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
"He's getting more than the premier," said Peguis resident Ray Mason.
Premier Gary Doer earns $149,000 a year, after just receiving a $25,000 pay hike this year.
WHO MAKES WHAT?
Salaries for selected Manitoba politicians:
Senior Manitoba MP Vic Toews (2007): $223,000
Former Peguis First Nation Chief Louis Stevenson (2006-07): $179,991
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer (2007): $149,018
Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz (2006): $106,996
Sources: Government of Canada, Province of Manitoba, City of Winnipeg.
Another Peguis resident, Don Wilson, called Stevenson's compensation "totally outrageous and unacceptable," in a letter to the editor in the Peguis Newsletter published by the band.
Newly elected chief, Glenn Hudson, and the band council are insisting Indian and Northern Affairs conduct forensic audits going back several years into Stevenson term as chief.
Hudson stood for election four times before he beat Stevenson last March.
The audit of the band's 2006-07 expenses shows Stevenson received a salary of $105,891 plus another $74,100 in honoraria, which is additional salary for attending meetings off the reserve.
He also received severance pay of $60,000, which the band and council approved in February 2007 for chief and councillors , less than a month before the election that ended his reign of the reserve.
Stevenson's total pay was earned on reserve property and is therefor exempt from taxation. A person working off reserve would have to gross about $415,000 in taxable income to net the same amount, according to one accountant.
When reached by telephone through his business, a gas bar and restaurant on Peguis called LJS Enterprises, Stevenson saw nothing wrong with what he got paid.
"I think the band got a pretty good return on its money for my representation... It's one of the best developed reserves in the province," Stevenson said. He also pointed to a recent $64-million Treaty Land Entitlement payment his council negotiated from government. "It's one of the largest land claims in history," he said.
Stevenson said he had not seen the audit the new band council made public. When figures were read out to him over the phone, he said they sounded reasonable.
"I guess if you add up what other public officials make, whether they are federal or municipal, those are numbers you might come up with," Stevenson said.
In fact, a reeve or mayor of a rural municipality or small city with similar population as Peguis typically earns from $20,000 to $30,000, with one-third of the salary exempt from taxes. For example, the mayor of Winkler, a city with about 9,000 residents, earns under $25,000 a year.
Stevenson also brushed aside controversy over his travel expenses. "The band is not situated in an urban setting," he said.
Hudson said some Peguis residents were upset over Stevenson's compensation while others weren't bothered at all.
The most glaring figure in the audit was Stevenson's travel expenses, said Hudson. The new chief and council have capped future travel expenses at $40,000. When it was suggested that still sounds high, Hudson said elected band officials can easily spend $2,000 a month just on fuel.
Some band education officials, who were earning up to $80,000, have also had their salaries cut down to the mid-$40,000 range, Hudson said.
Plans to reduce the salaries of the chief and councillors, who earn slightly less than the chief at about $80,000, are still being discussed. Hudson has talked about cutting salaries of all band employees by 10 per cent but that would require a majority agreement on council. Band council is made up of the chief and four councillors.
Hudson said the chief and council jobs are demanding jobs that must still have high compensation.
"I just came from a job making $70,000 plus, and now I'm making $90,000 plus. But the demand is 24/7 whereas my hours before were 9 to 5," he said.
Peguis has a population of about 3,500 people living on reserve. Another 4,500 registered band members live off reserve.
bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca