Port Moody council will review the paid leave it approved for Mayor Rob Vagramov while he fights a charge of sexual assault.
At its meeting Tuesday, council voted to undertake the review at its next closed-door session, likely May 7 or 14.
“It doesn’t mean there will be a change but it does mean there will be a discussion,” said the city’s current acting mayor, Coun. Meghan Lahti, adding council might have a better idea of how long Vagramov's leave could last after a court appearance scheduled for Thursday in Port Coquitlam provincial court.
Vagramov is to answer a charge of sexual assault for an incident that is alleged to have occurred in Coquitlam in 2015.
Lahti said the discussion about his leave could produce a range of results, from leaving things as they are to reducing what Vagramov is paid while he’s on leave to rescinding his pay altogether.
“Council has the prerogative to do that,” she said, adding council will seek advice from city staff and its lawyers as it considers its course of action, and any decision will be made public.
Vagramov, 26, became Port Moody’s youngest-ever mayor last October. He stepped away from his position effective March 29, the day after the charge was filed following an investigation by a special prosecutor that was launched Dec. 17, 2018. Vagramov said at the time he needed time away from the mayor's job to concentrate on fighting the charge, which he said is false. He continues to be paid his $111,833 annual salary.
Coun. Zoe Royer, who suggested the review be undertaken sooner, rather than waiting as long as until the end of the year, as proposed by Coun. Diana Dilworth, said, “This is a matter that is very important to the people of Port Moody.”
Dilworth said council has “received a tremendous amount of input from our residents with regard to this issue.”
There is currently no provincial legislation that forces elected officials facing criminal charges to take a leave. But resolutions endorsed by the Union of BC Municipalities last fall call for politicians to take a paid leave of absence from their position upon Crown approval of charges until the court process is complete, and to be removed from office if they’re convicted of a serious criminal offence.
Royer said the issue of whether Vagramov should continue to receive his pay is especially important in the context of an anticipated 5.4% hike in Port Moody’s property taxes as well as a staff recommendation that council’s three acting mayors have their pay boosted to the the same rate as the mayor’s position during each of their three-month terms.
That recommendation, which could cost the city as much as $53,440 if Vagramov’s paid leave continues until the end of the year, was also endorsed unanimously by council on Tuesday.
Angie Parnell, Port Moody’s general manager of corporate services, told council the mayoral role is “considered to be full-time work, if not more.”
Royer said she couldn’t disagree.
“To do this job the way it’s intended to be done, it’s a 50-hour-a-week job,” she said. “The person in the acting role should be compensated in the way the mayor would be compensated.”
Dilworth said each of the three councillors — Lahti, Hunter Madsen and Steve Milani — who were randomly selected in a draw of names from a water glass, is “making sacrifices” to step up from their part-time roles on council for which they are paid $40,579 annually.
“Compensating someone for the job they’re doing is the right thing to do,” she said.
