Winnipeg mayor keeps mum on $567K payout to former acting CAO Deepak Joshi

Mayor Brian Bowman says he's unable toshed any light on the $567,000 payoutmadelast year to Deepak Joshi, Winnipeg'sformer acting chief administrative officer.

One week after the city issued its annualcompensation disclosure, a list ofpayouts to city employees who earned more than $50,000 a year in salaries and benefits, Bowman said provincial privacy legislation precludes him from elaborating upon the salary, benefits or severance paid to Joshi, who was suspended by the mayor two weeks into 2015.

Bowman suspended Joshi on Jan. 16, 2015, stating at the timehe had lost confidence in the long-serving cityemployee.Joshiresigned on Feb. 18, 2015.

According to the 2015 compensation disclosure, released by the city on June 29,Joshi received $567,000last year. His compensation in 2014 was $246,000.

• Deepak Joshi, former Winnipeg CAO, highest-paid city employee in 2015

Speaking to reporters outside his office at city hall, Bowman said he could not elaborate uponJoshi'scompensation.

"I'm sure you can appreciate there's provincially mandated privacy rules that preclude us legally from being able to comment on personnel matters," the mayor said following the final executive policy committee meeting before the summer prorogation.

The mayor would not respond directly to questions about whether he had any regrets about the way he handled Joshi's suspension,whether he would have done anything differently or whether his actions led taxpayers to wind up on the hook for a larger severance payment to the former acting CAO.

Bowman also would not say whether Joshi, who now runs Red River Planning,threatened the city with legal action.

"The end result is we have a new CAO who has my confidence," said Bowman, referring to Doug McNeil, who was hired by the city in 2015.

Bowman noted the Joshi's contract withthe city was signed under the previous administration. The mayor said he was elected on a promise to improve openness and transparency and laudedMcNeil for agreeing to make his own contract public last week.

• Deepak Joshi suspended as City of Winnipeg's acting CAO
• City of Winnipeg's acting CAO Deepak Joshi resigns

Bowman also said he has approached thePallistergovernment about making changes to the way the compensation disclosure presentspayoutsto city staff.The mayorsaid he would likethe payments to be broken down into various categories instead of being displayed as lump sums.

"It raises more questions than sometimes it answers. I have reached out to the province to see if they're open to making changes to the information that's contained in those reports.They've indicated they're open to making changes," he said.

The compensation disclosure reveals some rank-and-file police officers earned more than the mayor in 2015.

"I'll leave that for the public," Bowman said when asked to comment, adding later thatthe Winnipeg Police Board is better suited to answersuch queries.