Mayor Gregor Robertson and his council have to recognize the economic crisis.
President Barack Obama reports being "stunned" by $165 million in bonus payouts to execs at the American International Group Inc., even as taxpayers were bailing out the faltering company.
Many Vancouverites will be similarly stunned by recent city decisions approving payouts of $571,788 to one civic employee, $420,000 to another.
The payout to Judy Rogers, dismissed in December without cause after 10 years as city manager, included accumulated banked time. So did the payout to Estelle Lo, who left of her own free will in November after a decade at City Hall.
In more than 32 years time spent covering government activities across Canada, I've noticed such payouts -- which for some reason most frequently involve hospital executives -- always are justified as perfectly normal by human resources experts.
And sure enough, in the payout involving Rogers, a human resources consultant in Vancouver has reassured us that this sum is a fairly standard. But should it be?
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