A Nov. 1. 2011 request by Comfor Management Services Ltd. (CMSL) director Wesley Sam to review the board's stipends has been tabled by the board.
The topic has been bumped from several agenda's due to board member absences, and again, during the board meeting last week the topic was put off for discussion at a later date.
Quentin Beach, CMSL president said that as Sam was absent from the meeting, any discussion about the topic should wait.
Sam spoke to Lakes District News about why he originally made the request to have a review of directors stipends. He said, "It's no burning issue ... I just wanted a general review of the stipends ... it has been a while since the topic was brought up. Of course, this all takes a back seat now due to what has happened in the community [Babine Forest Products explosion and fire]."
Comfor Management Services Ltd. executive assistant Michael Riis-Christianson did however complete a survey of the board stipends of other community forest organizations in B.C.
In a memorandum presented to directors, Riis-Chistianson notes that of the 24 plus community forests surveyed, just two paid their directors as a stipend.
The two, according to Riis-Christianson, are the Likely-Xatsull Community Forest and the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation.
He said that Likely-Xatsull pays its directors a stipend of $50 and the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation pays the chair $1,200 per year and the directors $600 per year, however he noted that the directors have voluntarily waived their stipends.
According to the report, other community forest organizations pay directors for expenses incurred while traveling to conventions on behalf of the board.
Currently each of the five directors of the CMSL board are paid a stipend of $250 per month for attending meetings, with president Beach, receiving an additional $250 on top of that.
He said, "If they don't attend meetings, they are not paid. And the $250 is a flat fee, if they attend 10 meetings, they still receive $250."
Riis-Christianson said directors are also able to claim for the payment of expenses incurred during travel on community forest business, but added that nothing of this nature has been incurred by directors for many years.
The topic will be brought back to the table for discussion at a later date.