Outgoing councillors, mayor getting thousands in severance
Posted Oct 27, 2010 07:18:51 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Taxpayers are footing the bill for city councillors we didn’t want.
The incumbents who lost their seats in Monday’s election won’t have to worry about cash for a while, thanks to severance packages being handed to them from the city.
Under municipal policy, councillors and the mayor will receive one month of salary for every year of service up to a maximum of six months.
That adds up quickly, given that six councillors and a mayor were kicked out of council on Monday.
Altogether there will be around $250,000 from city coffers handed out and that doesn’t include the pre-amalgamation packages for four councillors.
Mayor Larry O’Brien alone, who served just one term, will get $55,000.
Ade Olumide with the Ottawa Taxpayers’ Advocacy Group says the severance package deal should be abolished by the new council.
“Politics should not be a job, elected office should not be something you plan to go into for life,” he said. “It is a temporary position, so when your contract comes to an end, it’s simply, ‘Thank you for your service.’ And that should be it.”
According to the Ottawa Sun, those who choose to resign don’t get the payout.
The figures are even more staggering in Toronto, where incumbents are paid even if they don’t run again.
That means that taxapayers in Toronto are forking out $1.2 million for the 13 councillors and mayor who are not returning.
