The City of Thompson released their compensation disclosure report from 2014 earlier this week, and it’s left the opinion of some Thompsonites split right down the middle.
Bill 57, otherwise known as the Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act, requires all Manitoba municipalities to disclose the amount of compensation it pays to officers and employees who were paid $50,000 or more.
An opinion poll on ThompsonOnline.ca where we asked if the city employee’s names and salaries should be posted online yielded 50-50 results. Half of those voters consider salaries to be personal information, whereas the other half believes that by doing this, the city is being accountable to the taxpayers.
City Manager Gary Ceppetelli says that while Bill 57 has been in effect since 1996, this was the first time they had posted the report online.
“The city of Thompson has, every year, complied with Bill 57 and had that information. It’s just that, in the last few weeks, we’ve been getting questions in regards to city employees.”
Cepetelli also says that the $50,000 gross minimum is a calculation of regular wage, overtime pay, and other sources, and not necessarily strictly salary.
