VANOC executive vice-president Dave Cobb says every Olympic sponsor has fulfilled their commitment so far in terms of cash and value in kind. (CBC)Vancouver's Olympic committee plans to hand out $30 million in bonuses to key staff in order to encourage them stay on until the 2010 Winter Games are finished after the Paralympics in March, rather than see them leave prematurely to find new work.

Deputy CEO Dave Cobb said in a statement released on Thursday that the packages were negotiated well in advance in order to keep employees during the final 12 months before the Games.

Other organizing committees have lost as many as 12 employees a month during that period, and the bonuses were calculated according to length of service and seniority, Cobb said.

Most of VANOC's $1.76-billion operating budget is financed by private sector revenue sources, including domestic and international sponsorships, the International Olympic Committee, international licensing and merchandising, ticket sales and fundraising.

Not the time for bonuses: NDP

VANOC CEO John Furlong said last week he expects the organization to break even at the end of the Games in February.

But the provincial NDP's Olympic critic, Kathy Corrigan, said given the overall cost of hosting the Games and the state of the economy, it's a bad time to be talking about bonuses.

"I can certainly understand the frustration of the taxpayers, particularly in these times when there are people who are just barely able to make it to the next paycheque, and if they see somebody is making you know $20,000 or $25,000 or $30,000 extra, just for doing the job that they promised they were going to do," Corrigan said.

While VANOC is responsible for the cost of running both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in February and March, the costs for building venues, transportation infrastructure and security for the Games are the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments. Some of those costs are well over budget, with the athletes village requiring a bailout from the city of Vancouver and the final security bill expected to be nearly $1 billion, or more than five times the initial estimate.