TransLink’s Executives Slurpin’ At The Public Trough
I don’t know why Transportation Minister BlairAi??Leckstrom is so upset aboutAi??TransLink executives getting expensive bonusesAi??as it was his own government thatAi??laid the foundation forAi??TransLink as it is today. The TransLink of old had mediocre public oversight at best with regional mayors, many of whom with little or no knowledge of public transit, running the show. The public were all but cut out of any meaningful input as our regional politicians, as always,Ai??knew best.
Then BC Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon,Ai??was so enraged (or should I say his boss, Gordon Campbell, was so enraged) over TransLink’s refusal to fund building the Premier’s pet P-3 (Ponzi?) Canada Line rapid transit system because of highAi??cost for little return, rearranged TransLink and taking away the mayors role overseeing the ponderous bureaucracy and gave that role to a grossly inept and badly named, “Board of Experts“, who have been noticeable in being “experts at nothing” and not surprisingly do nothing,Ai??except collectingAi??overly largeAi??stipends for their efforts.
TransLink’s career bureaucrats saw that the time was ripe to greatly increase their personal incomes with grossly inflated wages and bonuses, while at the same time doing nothing but providing dated planning revolving around the obsolete SkyTrain (the governments favourite) or BRT, which in the end will do little to improve regional transit while at the same time greatly increase taxes for the common folk. Of course, everyone knows the common folk have deep pockets and just love to feed the black-hole, known as TransLink.
Transit planning has become a great ponzi scheme under the Liberals and those who work for the organization do as little as possible for the greatest incomes as possible.
Mr. Leckstrom and his governmentAi??have createdAi??the problem for letting TransLink wallow out of control and now the taxpayer is paying a massive price forAi??his and his government’s grossAi??incompetence.
Just change the ship’s name to TransLink and you have got the picture!
TransLink executive bonuses criticized by transportation minister
By Cassidy Olivier, The Province April 3, 2012
Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom on Tuesday called a TransLink proposal to award nine of its senior executives hefty performance bonuses ai???inappropriateai??? given the financially-troubled agency is struggling to fill funding gaps.
According to TransLink, eight senior executives and CEO Ian Jarvis are eligible for the bonuses, which are part of TransLinkai??i??s incentives plan.
If approved, the senior executives would receive a bonus equal to 15 per cent of their base salary. Jarvis would be handed a bonus equal to about 20 per cent of his base salary, which is around $300,000.
The program has been in place since 2006, but the optics of the current review of bonuses couldnai??i??t be any worse.
Late last month, the government called for an audit of TransLink to help find money to cover an estimated $30 million shortfall the transportation authority needs for system upgrades.
And on Sunday, Metro Vancouver began paying an extra two cents per litre at the pump to help fund TransLinkai??i??s long-awaited Evergreen Line.
ai???As minister of transportation, I think it is inappropriate to award bonuses at a time when TransLink is seeking to fill significant funding shortfalls,ai??? said Lekstrom in a statement to The Province.
ai???I intend to share my concerns with TransLink at the earliest opportunity.ai???
In an email to The Province, Jarvis said the plan consists of a ai???rigorous process to determine award incentives.ai??? He said each personai??i??s performance is tied to ai???corporate goals,ai??? including budget management and customer satisfaction.
ai???If these goals are not achieved, no incentive is paid,ai??? he said, adding the 2012 program is being reviewed.
Transportation critic Harry Bains agreed the timing of the potential bonuses is ai???terrible.ai??? And he also questioned whether employees of government agencies, such as TransLink, should be awarded bonuses at all.
ai???You would think they had a full commitment to the job and that all of those targets are to be met, and that is part of their job,ai??? he said. ai???So why set artificial targets and then try to meet them and then get bonuses? I think itai??i??s the wrong philosophy.ai???
Bains called on the government to investigate if there is a way to stop the bonuses from being awarded without incurring any penalties.
A dollar value for the total amount of bonuses currently on the table was not made available to The Province, but a TransLink spokesperson confirmed that last year the agency paid out an estimated $325,000 in bonuses to its executives.
Ai?? Copyright (c) The Province
You’d expect the CEO of TransLink to be highly qualified, maybe holding an electrical or a mechanical engineering degree requiring tons of calculus, statistics and science as well as a second degree in the humanities for good communication. This would allow the CEO at TransLink to evaluate train and bus specifications intelligently and to pick the best transit for the money.
Unfortunately, Mickey Mouse CEO of TransLink, Ian Jarvis is an accountant making four times his market value – no bonus necessary here and a pay cut or demotion is in order in my opinion. It also explains the reason for SkyTrain transit.
While the rest of the country uses LRT or streetcar transit which moves more people for less money than SkyTrain, TransLink operates elevated trains (SkyTrain). Because SkyTrain stations are spaced two kilometers apart, TransLink must operate diesel buses along all SkyTrain routes to shuttle passengers to the SkyTrain stations – effectively paying for transit twice. On the other hand, LRT and streetcar transit have closely spaced stops and take polluting diesel buses off the roads to reduce transit costs and pollution.
It sure looks like TransLink CEO, Ian Jarvis is doing an awesome job to me. Bonus? How about a pink slip, instead?