Bickering over council payouts

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This article was published 15/10/2014 (4037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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It appears some of Winnipeg’s mayoral candidates have no new promises to dangle in front of voters with a week left in the civic-election campaign.

At three separate events Tuesday, candidates Judy Wasylycia-Leis, David Sanders and Brian Bowman reiterated promises they made earlier in the campaign.

However, Bowman and Wasylycia-Leis also used their events to attack each other over the council severance plan.

Bowman began Tuesday’s event by taking a swipe at Wasylycia-Leis for her refusal to condemn the severance package paid to members of council, which will occur for the first time since it was approved three years ago.

Wasylycia-Leis earlier Tuesday said she wouldn’t accept a severance package but called Bowman irresponsible for condemning those defeated councillors, and those choosing not to run again, for taking the money.

Bowman, a lawyer at one of the city’s top law firms who placed a distant second to Wasylycia-Leis in the latest opinion poll, criticized the severance initiative last week and repeated his criticism Tuesday afternoon, calling it “offensive.”

“This is something that, quite frankly, is wrong,” Bowman said of the council severance. “I think it’s offensive to most Winnipeggers who work very hard and cannot enjoy the same types of severances.”

The severance plan was approved by council at its September 2011 meeting on the recommendation of an independent consultant who said the funds would help members of council transition back to the private sector and as an alternative to employment insurance benefits, which they are not eligible to collect. The severance payout is the equivalent of three weeks pay for every year of service, to a maximum of six months.

The severances are only given to councillors who are defeated in a re-election bid and to those who choose not to seek re-election. Members of council who quit before the term expires are not eligible for severance. Severances are not paid to members of council removed from office because of a criminal conviction.

Similar severances are given to council members in Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary.

Wasylycia-Leis said with two government pensions from her time as MLA and MP waiting for her, she doesn’t need the severance but said others on council may not be in the same situation.

Individuals make great sacrifices when they quit their jobs to become a politician, she said, adding there is a place for a severance for those who need it.

Wasylycia-Leis said she would commit to reviewing the plan to ensure it reflects the current situation and to compare it to other municipalities.

Bowman said the mayor and councillors earn a good salary and should be able to regularly put away a portion of their pay for the time they are no longer on council.

Bowman used Tuesday’s event to reiterate his first policy announcement to create greater transparency at city hall.

‘I think it’s offensive to most Winnipeggers who work very hard and cannot enjoy the same types of severances’ — Brian Bowman

“The first announcement I made was to lift the veil of secrecy at city hall,” Bowman said and then went on to repeat a list of previously announced initiatives, including:

• Creating an office of public engagement responsible for releasing information about all civic projects.
• Make council votes easily accessible online, along with all council expenses.
• Online monthly disclosure of all council discretionary budgets used by councillors.
• End the practice of discretionary refusals to release information when requested under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
• Publication online of all data released through FIPPA requests.

“We need greater openness and transparency,” at city hall, Bowman said. “I strongly believe that we’re going to help prevent future audits and other indiscretions at city hall by shining a light in the corridors of power.”

Wasylycia-Leis used her event alongside Roblin Boulevard to restate her $400-million plan, which involves adding an additional $60 million over four years to the $340 million city hall has already committed to infrastructure, with the new money directed to regional and local streets and active transportation.

“A city that works means driving to work on smooth, safe, well-built roads,” Wasylycia-Leis said.

For road work, Wasylycia-Leis said her priority will be regional commuter routes, streets for tourist destinations and the airport-downtown routes.

For the first time, Wasylycia-Leis said she expects to be in office for only two terms.

Sanders repeated his pledge to work collaboratively with civic unions and the public to effect a dramatic change at city hall. “The next mayor should pursue a harder path, one that requires a leap of imagination in the possibilities of comprehensive planning and community development, real attention to neighbourhoods, a stronger insistence on equality and efforts to unleash civic energy for a more dynamic and better-stewarded public realm,” Sanders said.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca