Former District of Squamish Chief Administrative Officer Kim Anema received a severance payout worth in excess of $225,000, according to documents obtained by The Chief under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Anema resigned in May, and a district document shows that for his 20 years of service - eight as CAO - he will receive 18 months of salary, worth $195,286, as well as 60 days of salary as retirement payment worth $21,700, payment of legal fees worth $4,000, and membership and professional fees paid for over 18 months.
The payment was negotiated in the absence of policies and union contracts, according to Mayor Greg Gardner.
"There is no severance policy that governs [the district], and we are required to compensate exempt staff according to the common law in the absence of a contract limiting that obligation," stated Gardner in an email response to queries.
He declined to answer follow up questions regarding the district's interpretation and application of common law, however Gwendoline Allison, a partner with the Clark Wilson LLP business law firm, said the payout is not unusual.
"Generally my view - I've been doing this for 14 years -of an employee who has been there for 20 years at senior level, 18 months of salary wouldn't be outside the range of what a court would award," said Allison.
Courts would award compensation based on the most recent position held. However she added severance is not typically awarded if the resignation is "purely voluntary."
"Severance with a resignation tends to come with a negotiated exit," she said.
On May 19, Anema stated in a letter that he was retiring to attend to personal matters. He wrote that he wished to "pay homage to those who have gone before" and that "from the knowledge shared by these individuals, I have strived to strike a principle centred balance between time-honoured values in the context of the modern world."
Allison said severance is often granted in lieu of what is deemed a reasonable notice of termination since "you don't really want someone kicking around for 18 months knowing that they're on their out."
Although rarely granted by the courts, up to two years notice is allowed for professionals in senior level positions.
"The idea is that the longer you've been there the longer it will take to find a new job - you've got the 'Old dog new trick' kind of thing," said Allison. "I doubt that he would get less if he went to court."
The last District of Squamish chief administrator, Grant McRadu, received $135,000 in cash and up to 19 months of benefits after he and the municipality went their separate ways in 2001, according to documents also obtained by The Chief under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Kevin Ramsay, City of Vancouver general manager of Human Resource Services, takes over the role of Squamish chief administrative officer in mid-September.
