Push for more transparency on employee compensation gains momentum

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This article was published 14/09/2016 (3343 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City councillor Scott Gillingham is seeing dividends in his efforts to have additional information released in the annual employee compensation disclosure report.

Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands-Weston) appeared before Mayor Brian Bowman and his executive policy committee (EPC) Wednesday morning and they unanimously supported his proposal, which now goes to council later this month for a vote.

“Disclosure is critical to the public having confidence in government,” Gillingham told EPC councillors. “The level of public confidence in government is proportional to the level of transparency within government.”

Gillingham had moved a motion on the floor of council in July, calling for a breakdown in the annual compensation report, which now only provides the total sum paid to employees earning $50,000 or more.

Gillingham wants the employee annual payments to be broken down into regular pay, overtime, vacation, sick leave cash out, special bonuses, severance, and any other compensation. He’s also calling for details on all employment contracts with senior civic staff. If the city can’t release the information on its own, Gillingham wants council to formally ask the province to amend the legislation.

Gillingham’s motion was prompted by the controversy over the revelation former acting chief administrative officer Deepak Joshi – who quit his job in February 2015 after being suspended by Bowman the month before – had been paid $567,000 for 2015.

Further revelations about high income earners among police officers and transit mechanics only re-enforced Gillingham’s resolve for an explanation of why these individuals’ take-home pay has been so large.

The annual disclosure report is mandatory at all government agencies across the province. The reports list the total compensation paid to an employee and which department they work and their classification. An exception was recently made for police officers – while their rank and compensation is stated, their name is replaced by a random number that changes every year.

Bowman said he hopes council will also unanimously support Gillingham’s motion, adding it will then be up to the administration to determine what additional information can be released.

“I believe this would be unprecedented openness and transparency on these types of matters and I would welcome it,” Bowman said

Legislation requires the compensation disclosure reports to be released before the end of June of the following year. Bowman said he didn’t know if a more detailed report will be released for the 2016 year.

Bowman said city staff have informed the province that such a request might be coming.

“The first step would be for us to see what we can do on our end before approaching (the province) to change the legislation,” Bowman told reporters following the EPC meeting.

Gillingham’s motion is expected to be debated by council at its Sept. 28 meeting.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca