6 charts that break down the City of Vancouver's finances for last year

Every year, it's the biggest disclosure of every municipality in British Columbia. 

The City of Vancouver is expected to approve its 2024 Statement of Financial Information on Wednesday, a 165-page document that outlines exactly how money was spent in the city last year and how much money virtually every politician and employee made. 

The yearly disclosure is required by provincial law, and every municipality in B.C. must publicly release their financial statements by June 30. Aside from city hall's budget, it must include the remuneration for every employee, the amount given to different companies for services over $25,000, and the remuneration for every elected official and staff member over $75,000.

As such, there are plenty of stories that come out of the annual statements — not just when they're released but in the weeks and months afterward. 

But here are four immediate stories from Vancouver's statement that caught our eye. 

A $3 billion city

It was just 20 years ago that Vancouver's revenues eclipsed $1 billion for the first time, and since then, they have steadily risen, with the exception of a one-time pandemic in 2020.

But last year, they went up at a rate never seen before.

For the first time, Vancouver's revenues eclipsed $3 billion in 2024, a $548.5 million increase from 2023. 

According to the city, the majority of that increase was due to a $333.3 million increase in developer contributions, which the city attributed to "phased community amenities [and] development cost levies."

Because most of that increase was unplanned, the city recorded an $860-million annual surplus, continuing a long line of large surpluses that the city reinvests into various contingency funds and capital projects. 

Overall, the city's operating expenditures remained similar year over year, with the highest line item going to police protection ($474 million), followed by utilities, parks and recreation, and engineering. 

Highest paid employees

Every year, plenty of attention is paid to the city's highest paid employees, but the list is generally quite stable, with the top managers in various departments generally receiving steady increases in their base pay. 

So it was again in 2024 in Vancouver, as retiring police Chief Adam Palmer received $487,224, once again the highest in the city. 

That was a five per cent increase from his 2023 salary, and his three deputy chiefs were the third to fifth highest paid employees in the city, with city manager Paul Mochrie second at $387,110. 

The top 10 paid employees with the city all made more than $300,000, just the second time that has happened. 

6-figure councillors

For the first time in Vancouver's history, all sitting councillors received over $100,000 in base compensation for their year in office. 

The 10 elected councillors made between $102,674 and $119,749 for their roles, with their base rate of $101,937.68 being augmented by various stints as deputy mayor or acting mayor. 

(Those salaries do not include additional compensation for sitting on various Metro Vancouver boards.) 

Mayor Ken Sim made $207,958, with $22,756 in local expenses and $28,034 charged for travel and various conferences.

There have been several stories about Sim's travel as mayor, and while the amount he's expensed the city is significantly higher than his predecessor Kennedy Stewart, it's comparable with that of Gregor Robertson, Vancouver's mayor from 2008 to 2018, who re-entered political life this month as a federal candidate for Parliament with the Liberal Party.

A reminder that what goes around in politics often comes around.