Politicians are too generous with scarce tax dollars: Councillor Linda Annis
Surrey First Councillor and candidate for mayor Linda Annis says taxpayer funded severance packages given to senior public executives such as Metro Vancouver’s Jerry Dobrovolny should be made public without delay when their termination or departure is announced.
“When taxpayer money is involved, we need complete transparency,” said Annis. “As mayor of Surrey, I’ll lead a core review of every city program and expense, and that includes what we pay our most senior executives, and what sort of severance they receive if they are terminated. Frankly, I also think politicians have been too generous with publicly funded severance packages, and they forget that taxpayers are paying the bill. I think we need to do a much better job of negotiating these things on behalf of our taxpayers, and not just accept the status quo or the way things are currently done.”
Annis has also committed to hiring an independent Auditor General, something Doug McCallum and Brenda Locke have both opposed.
“Every big city in Canada has an independent Auditor General, someone who is independent of staff and city council,” explained Annis. “Our city budget tops $2 billion annually, and the Auditor General would have the ability to investigate and audit city expenses, programs and operations, and their reports and recommendations will make for a more transparent and efficient city hall.”