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This article was published 3/12/2014 (2119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brian Bowman's proposals to kill a council severance package and trim payments to certain members of council are part of a broader agenda to devalue and demean the work of politicians, says North End Coun. Ross Eadie.

Eadie said not all members had the luxury of returning to high-paying jobs once their terms as councillors were over. But he appeared more conciliatory on the extra salary payments, provided the money saved was put to good use.

"It's an attack on politicians," Eadie (Mynarski) said of Bowman's proposals, to be debated this morning at the executive policy committee meeting. "It's the belief that politicians are worth nothing."

Bowman said he's fulfilling one of his key campaign commitments with this morning's package, which includes an $11,810 reduction in his own salary and the salaries paid to the Speaker, deputy mayor and chairmen of standing committees. The cuts, he said, would save the city $100,000 annually.

The reform package includes a separate vote on a plan to eliminate severance payments to members of council who are defeated in an election or who decide not to seek re-election.

Bowman saved his harshest criticism for the severance packages, which he called a political "payout" he would never take. Members of council, he said, don't deserve them and should never get them when most of the public received no comparable severance when they changed jobs.

But Eadie said the severance package was the recommendation of an independent consultant, who said the funds were meant to ease their way back to private life.

The 2011 report, by local lawyer Michael Werier, noted Manitoba MLAs receive the identical severance and similar plans exist for members of council in Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary. Werier's report noted politicians aren't entitled to collect employment insurance.

Eadie said he was also initially opposed to Bowman's plan to trim the additional salaries paid to the Speaker, deputy mayor and the chairmen of the standing committees, but now hoped the $100,000 would be put to good use.

Mayor Brian Bowman

"I might vote for it now... I'm quite discouraged," Eadie said.

Eadie said it appears Bowman doesn't understand or appreciate the sacrifice made by most people who quit their jobs to enter politics.

"Bowman is a successful lawyer. When he decides to go back to private life, his firm will take him back, and he has important friends and supporters who will make that transition easier," Eadie said. "That doesn't exist for most politicians.

"I don't intend to be on council forever, but I know for someone who is totally blind, it's easier to get elected than it is to find a job. I don't have that kind of support waiting for me when I decide to leave here."

Bowman said Tuesday Winnipeggers expect him to fulfil a campaign commitment to end severance payments for members of council.

"Most Winnipeggers don't receive that sort of payout when they choose to leave a job," he said, exhuming a favourite talking point from his campaign. "It's not severance. It's a political payout."

Bowman said he has urged members to support his initiative.

He said he received "good, constructive feedback" from councillors who both support and oppose the idea -- including Eadie, who was upset by the mayor's characterization of the discussions.

"I am hopeful that the personal relationships with all the council members aren't too adversely affected," Bowman said.

Eadie said the $23,600 salary increase on top of the councillors' regular salary reflects the additional work and responsibilities of these positions, adding reducing the compensation is the same as saying the work they do isn't that valuable.

"I'm not on EPC, and I'll probably never be, but I just don't like the premise behind these reductions."

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca