By Pepper Parr
April 8th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Jim Portside put it better than anyone else.
There are salary increases being paid to senior city hall staff that are so much higher than what is seen in the in the private sector – one can only call it excessive.
While Portside focused on four salary situations that he thought were exceptional, there were others.
There appeared to be people who were getting funds from the city a year after they had left – the amount they were given was enough to put them on the Sunshine list.
Our seven-member council sets policy and directs the CAO to adhere to that policy.
Time for Council to become more fiscally responsible and set some limits on just how much of an increase can be paid. And to take a hard look at what is paid in the way of severance.
Hobbles are used to prevent a horse from taking huge strides and going too fast; teaching them to yield to pressure and learn to think through situations. If a hobble can do this to Council, buying seven of them might be the best purchase the city ever made.
Time to put a hobble on what Human Resources can do and what CAO Hassaan Basit can offer when hiring new staff.
Hobbles are used as a tool for training horses, teaching them to yield to pressure and learn to think through situations. If horses can be taught to do things differently, it would be reasonable to assume that Council members can be taught as well.
The Human Resources department has dozens of different salary increase levels.
There appear to be some handsome amounts paid out when a staff member is let go. Portide reports on this as well.
The CAO is in place to oversee the administration of the people who get the job done. He has to be given direction by Council.
Right now Burlington has taken the position that they have to pay high salaries to get the people needed to move into a fully digital operation. Some excellent people have been hired and some very good work has been done.
The question taxpayers have is: Can we afford what the city is in the process of doing?
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Burlington as it was reflected on the 2024 Sunshine List
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