HRM - another deficit, Butts pay rises 12%

[Colin May]

The salary of CAO Richard Butts has risen more than 12% compared with the same period a year ago according to a staff report to the November 18 Audit & Finance Committee meeting.
His earnings have increased more than 3 times faster than inflation. http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/SCfi...118afsc911.pdf
see page 30 Attachment #2

................................. Butts pay.........% increase.........Inflation % (Halifax)
2011/2012 .............. 289,000 ........................................3.6
2012/2013 .............. 309,000............. 6.9 ..................... 1.7
2013/2014 .............. 322,000 ............ 4.5 ..................... 1.1
2013/2015 .............. 343,000 ............ 6.5 ..................... 1.8
2015/2016 .............. 364,000 ............ 6.1

source : HRM Consolidated Financial Statements

In addition, HRM finance staff are projecting a $1.7 million operating deficit for 2015/16 following two consecutive deficits totalling $12 million.

A multi year slump in real estate sales is responsible for the steady decline in Deed Transfer Tax revenue. In the first 6 months of 2015/16 DTT was $18,834,477 down 3.7% from the same period in 20145/15 and down 21% from the same period in 2012/13 when DTT was $23,860,017.
HRM is budgeting $32,000,00 DTT revenue for 2015/16 down from $36,000,000 budgeted in 2014/15

source : http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/SCfi...118afsc911.pdf (Attachment #1).

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Colin May

The salary of CAO Richard Butts has risen more than 12% compared with the same period a year ago according to a staff report to the November 17 Audit & Finance Committee meeting. http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/SCfi...118afsc911.pdf
see page 30 Attachment #2

The irony is that Butts would probably consider himself underpaid.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Colin May

In addition, HRM finance staff are projecting a $1.7 million operating deficit for 2015/16 following two consecutive deficits totalling $12 million.

To put this into context, HRM's 2015-2016 gross operating budget is $870M, so this is an insignificant deficit of around 0.2%. When you add in population and economic growth, the city's real debt load has probably shrunk again, unless they added a lot in debt for capital projects.

The $870M operating budget also puts projects like commuter rail into perspective. Whether or not it's worthwhile is debatable, but sub-$100M multi-year projects are in no way make-or-break projects for the city. They're the HRM finance equivalent of a middle class household electing to build a backyard fence.

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by someone123

To put this into context, HRM's 2015-2016 gross operating budget is $870M, so this is an insignificant deficit of around 0.2%. When you add in population and economic growth, the city's real debt load has probably shrunk again, unless they added a lot in debt for capital projects.

The $870M operating budget also puts projects like commuter rail into perspective. Whether or not it's worthwhile is debatable, but sub-$100M multi-year projects are in no way make-or-break projects for the city. They're the HRM finance equivalent of a middle class household electing to build a backyard fence.

HRM has control of $560M of the operating budget; the $870M includes fixed transfers to the school board, jails, capital from operating, etc.
See page 3 of Attachment #1

[halifaxboyns]

Richard Butts has resigned. He will leave HRM on the Jan 8th and begin as President of Clayton Developments.