City of Calgary releases compensation disclosure list

The City is publicly releasing its first – and what will be annual – compensation disclosure list today.

The list includes filled part-time and full-time, temporary and permanent positions for both union and exempt jobs. The goal in producing the list was to provide transparency in City compensation while respecting the privacy and security of employees. Employee names and exact salaries are not included.

Unlike other organizations where disclosure of employee compensation only occurs over a specific salary amount, The City's list reports City positions and the associated salary ranges.

“Our salary ranges provide fair and competitive compensation for our employees,” says Jeff Fielding, City Manager. “We want to be an employer of choice, without losing sight of our accountability to citizens.”

In the fall of 2014, City Council voted to adopt a compensation disclosure list. Beginning with publication of the first list in June, The City will annually publish position titles, salary ranges, and information about pensions and benefits online.

The Alberta Government began releasing a provincial disclosure list in 2014 that includes names and salaries of those with base salaries of $100,000 or more. The Province’s legislation does not apply to municipalities.

“This list strikes a good balance between protecting employee privacy and providing public disclosure to our citizens,” says Fielding.

Richard Leblanc, a Canadian expert and commentator on compensation disclosure, has been quoted widely in national media. He reviewed The City’s list during its creation. “The City of Calgary’s list goes about as far as you can, while still respecting privacy and security of employees,” says Leblanc. “I think the wide scope of this list provides transparency you don’t see in other jurisdictions.”

The City of Calgary’s compensation list is available in a number of file formats, including PDF, and as open data files on The City’s Open Data Catalogue.

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For commentary on compensation disclosure practices, please contact:

Dr. Richard Leblanc
Associate Professor, Law, Governance & Ethics
York University, Toronto, Ontario
416-767-6676
e-mail: rleblanc@yorku.ca