Councillors floored by OT costs

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This article was published 22/07/2016 (3525 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The extent of overtime paid to Transit employees caught several city councillors by surprise.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee that oversees Transit, and a member of the finance committee, said she was unaware of the overtime and could offer no explanation.

“It’s unbelievable that (a mechanic) is making as much as (Transit director) Dave Wardrop,” she said.

Lukes said Wardrop told her committee in the spring that all work to repair Cummins engines was being contracted out. She doesn’t understand what is driving the maintenance overtime.

Lukes said she has asked Wardrop for an explanation.

“I hope there is a very good explanation. It’s really hard to comprehend how an apprentice mechanic in two years is earning as much as the director. That really merits a detailed explanation,” she said.

Coun. Jeff Browaty, who is a member of Mayor Brian Bowman’s executive policy committee, said while the difficulties of dealing with the Cummins engines was well-documented, the increased overtime paid to workers wasn’t discussed.

“The public explanation from Transit that (the engine problems had been resolved) didn’t really capture the fact that the ongoing maintenance regime… is a lot more involved than what we had previously,” Browaty said.

“I think we recognize, and it’s not a unique Winnipeg situation, that these Cummins engines will require an intense maintenance regime, and that means additional costs going forward.”

Browaty said no one expected that level of overtime, and he expects Transit is exploring alternatives to bring it under control. “We should get an explanation from our staff. We weren’t aware that the overtime was as acute as it appears to be.”

Coun. Scott Gillingham, also a member of the finance committee, said the unexplained overtime supports his call for greater explanations to accompany annual compensation disclosure reports.

“This is taxpayer money. Council and the departments are obligated to continually strive to find efficiencies and better processes to ensure the best use of the dollars the city collects from taxpayers,” he said.

In light of the revelation of the $567,000 severance paid to former acting city CAO Deepak Joshi as a result of the information contained in the most recent compensation disclosure report, Gillingham and Lukes proposed at the July 13 council meeting that detailed explanations for payments to civic staff — elaborating on what portion was regular pay, overtime and severance — become standard in future reports. The proposal was referred to executive policy committee, which doesn’t meet again until September.

“That information could assist in identifying areas that need to be addressed,” Gillingham said. “If the disclosure reporting could identify these significant increases, it would allow departments to identify areas that need solutions. Solutions could be brought forward to address the overtime costs,” he said.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca