It was better to pay Saanich Police Chief Bob Downie’s banked time — valued at $252,000, more than his annual salary — than seeing him burn off accrued hours by taking vacation, Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell says.
“We need a chief here,” Atwell said.
“I don’t think it would be in everyone’s best interest to have a chief, paid as a chief, constantly on vacation to get the hours down.
“That’s not the solution. The solution is the contract going forward to manage the costs that have been downloaded.”
The $252,000 payment for banked time was triggered by Downie’s retirement on July 31. The 35-year veteran of the department was also paid $126,000 as a retirement allowance.
The day after he retired, Downie was rehired on a two-year contract for $222,711 a year, with the option of extending by another year.
Atwell, who is chairman of the police board, said Downie put forward the retiring-rehiring arrangement, and it was well received by the police board.
Council was not told of the deal, which was not made public until six weeks later.
The payout Downie received for time owed was far higher than the maximum allowed under rules he helped create.
Soon after he became chief in February 2014, Downie and the police board crafted a policy that allowed non-unionized management staff members (such as the chief, deputy chief, inspectors and civilian managers) to carry forward 70 hours of vacation time per year to a maximum of 280 hours (eight weeks). The maximum for non-union, non-management positions is 140 hours (four weeks).
Anything beyond the maximum is to be taken in time by the following March 31, if possible.
“Had such a policy existed previously, leave that was not taken in any given year would have been taken early in the following year, or paid out at that time, and as such it would not have accumulated,” Downie said.
The policy, which went into effect in January 2015, would have capped Downie’s own banked time at about $35,000, based on $120 an hour for 280 hours. However, non-unionized employees who were in their positions before February 2014 and who already had more than the maximum did not have to drain their banks, they just could not accumulate more.
Downie said he followed that rule, and did not accumulate more hours.
“The standard you set is the standard you accept,” he said.
Downie said he essentially worked for free by going to the office while officially being on annual leave.
For unionized officers, the collective bargaining agreement allows the deferral of a maximum of 160 hours (a maximum of 40 hours or 80 hours per year, depending on vacation entitlement).
Officers need approval from the chief to carry time forward.
“The policy directs that, subject to relevant provisions of the collective agreement, all leave must be taken off in the year it is earned, unless approved by the chief constable,” Downie said in an email.
The chief said he has directed senior staff that accrued banked time for both exempt and union staff must be better managed.
Lawyer Ken Thornicroft, a University of Victoria labour expert, said Downie’s payout raises the question of why an organization would allow that much banked time to accumulate.
“Maybe police chiefs think they are indispensable, but in my opinion, no one is indispensable,” said Thornicroft, who argues employees should take their vacations.
Thornicroft questioned whether the problem is an organizational one, where employees are too busy to leave, “or is it a situation where people are looking deliberately not to take their vacation because often when it’s paid out, it’s being paid out at the current wage, even though it was earned when the wages were much lower.”
In Thornicroft’s view, the end of Downie’s employment and rehiring on contract was “simply a mechanism they came up with to allow the chief to accelerate the payment of his deferred vacation.”
The only way the banked pay would become immediately payable would be to terminate his employment relationship, said Thornicroft.
Atwell, who was elected mayor in November 2014, said he blames previous mayors, police chiefs and police boards for the lack of succession plans and for allowing large amounts of banked time to accumulate.
He said the last chief had a similar payout.
“At some point, there has to be a reasonable limit on it,” Atwell said. “It certainly shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate to unregulated levels.”
He said future Saanich chiefs will be required to sign contracts that spell out expectations around banked time.
Previous boards and mayors let chiefs manage their own banked time, said Atwell, but “we will manage it going forward.”
Union president Dean Jantzen said the police association is in the final stages of bargaining and won’t comment.
