Council heaped a healthy dose of praise on Calgary’s top bureaucrat Monday evening as they overwhelmingly approved a $26,775 bonus and $10,080 pay raise to acknowledge Jeff Fielding’s performance over the past year.
“To run this very large, 15,000-person corporate requires skill sets which are rare in the corporate world and even rarer in the government space,” said Coun. Richard Pootmans. “I think the compensation and bonusing we’ve discussed are entirely fair and reasonable.”
Council voted 13-1 in favour of the 8.5 per cent bonus and 3.2 per cent raise, with Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu the lone dissenting voice. Coun. Evan Woolley was not at Monday’s meeting. Fielding was not in council chambers when the raise and bonus were approved.
Many praised Fielding’s recent handling of the 2016 budget that includes a 3.5 per cent tax hike, or roughly $60 on the municipal portion of the typical Calgary homeowner’s property tax bill.
That rate is slightly lower than the 4.7 per cent hike proposed in Calgary’s four-year “action plan” that municipal leaders passed last year, but it translates to an $18-million loss in revenue to be covered through efficiencies and savings and without affecting city services.
City administration forecast lower revenue of $41 million in 2016 due to a drop in franchise fees from depressed natural gas and electricity prices and a slower growth in the tax base as the economy slows down. The revenue shortfall will be absorbed, in the short term, through the city’s corporate costs program.
“One of the challenges we faced in the past is when we said we needed to cut our budgets is we always presented with a list of things and services that we would have to cut in the service delivery to Calgarians,” said Coun. Andre Chabot.
“Mr. Fielding said there will be no cuts to services and he found $40 million in efficiencies,” Chabot said. “I think that’s worth that $26,000 investment.”
Fielding replaced former city manager Owen Tobert in June 2014, and brought with him a reputation as an inspirational leader who spearheaded change in both London, Ont. and Burlington, Ont., where he delivered transparent “service-based” budgets.
He earned a base salary of $315,000 last year, which now jumps to $326,080.
Chu praised Fielding’s work but opposed awarding a pay hike and bonus during an economic downturn.
“He has done a great job, but as a leader he should lead by example,” Chu said.
But Coun. Peter Demong criticized Chu’s comments, pointing to a vote last year that saw councillors approve a $1.7-million increase to their annual office budgets.
“What really surprises me and frustrates me is that a councillor would suggest in these dire times we shouldn’t be giving this kind of money,” Demong said.
“But that same councillor received a 40 per cent increase and voted in favour of a 40 per cent increase to his own ward budget.”
