Severance to former Bronconner staffers under fire

Concerns are being raised about severance packages handed to several of Dave Bronconnier’s personal staff while he was Calgary’s mayor.

The packages were apparently approved months after Bronconnier announced he would not be running again.

The agreements were with Marc Henry, the mayor’s former chief of staff, and several other staff members including the employee responsible for community relations and the staffer responsible for economic development internal affairs.

The terms of the packages are confidential, but reports say it works out to one month’s pay for every year of employment.

Some are critical of the packages, claiming they are a waste of taxpayer dollars.

"This ridiculous deal lined the pockets of a few staff that were loyal to the mayor in the end", says Doug Hennig, head of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Hennig says Bronconnier’s staff had plenty of notice to find another job and knew when they were hired their positions were only secure for as long as their boss was mayor.

Councillor Andre Chabot says the severance packages did not go before city council for approval.

It’s believed the city’s general manger signed off on the deals.

The city says no policies were contravened.