A Calgary councillor is going after transition allowances for council members a week after targeting retirement allowances for City of Calgary employees.
When Calgary councillors are defeated in an election or retire, they’re entitled to receive two weeks of pay for every year of service up to a maximum of one year’s pay, but they are not eligible for employment insurance.
In 2017, a citizen committee dealing with council compensation recommended the transition allowance be eliminated, but that was rejected by the previous council.
“If I had my way, we would do away with these golden handshakes immediately,” Ward 11 Councillor Jeromy Farkas said Tuesday.
He said he doesn’t want to wait for the recommendations of a new council compensation review committee.
“The council can’t be trusted to leave it to a citizens committee. The citizen committee made very clear that these golden handshakes for elected officials have to end.
“Unfortunately, council in 2017 overruled that expert advice”
Farkas said if council moves to eliminate retirement allowances for city workers it should lead by example and eliminate their transition allowance.
Ward 8 Councillor Evan Woolley said he’s happy to look at the issue, but there’s no comparison between the retirement allowance and transition allowance for politicians.
“A city employee leaving work is eligible for employment insurance and city councillors are not.”
Woolley said rules prohibit municipal politicians from looking for other work while in office or apply for EI when they leave office.
“This is not a golden handshake — this is just legitimately a transition allowance. The question I struggle with is I wonder how I make my mortgage payments, put gas in my car and feed my kids?”
The proposal to eliminate the transition allowance does have support from a number of councillors including Ward 3 Councillor Jyoti Gondek.
“When I decide to leave, that’s my choice,” Gondek said. “If I was leaving any other position, I wouldn’t get some sort of a bonus for leaving.
“And if I get unelected and the people choose to toss me out of this role, I don’t deserve a bonus for that.”
The item will be up for debate at Calgary city council’s meeting on Dec. 16.
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