Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is directing more taxpayer dollars from property taxes toward her security detail than toward environmental and social programs.
According to the City’s Property Tax Breakdown, Corporate Security receives 0.74% of the budget, while Climate and Environmental Management and social programs receive 0.31% and 0.25%, respectively.
Corporate Security is responsible for “protecting The City’s employees, Mayor, members of Council, citizens, and visitors, as well as safeguarding information, assets, and infrastructure, and assisting in the provision of public safety.”
When asked for a comment, the Mayor’s office declined to respond.
The figures might surprise Calgarians, particularly given that, following her victory in the Calgary mayoral election in 2021, Gondek announced her first order of business: declaring a climate emergency and vilifying the capital city of Canada’s oil industry.
“We have had the opportunity to declare a climate emergency for years,” said Gondek at the time.
“So, let’s get serious. Let’s declare this. And let’s start going after some of the capital that we will see flow in once we make a bold move like that,” she said.
It is still unclear what incoming cash she was referring to. The announcement caught business leaders off guard, causing vacant office space in the city, once home to international energy firms’ headquarters, to skyrocket.
Gondek gets a raise
Earlier this year, the controversial mayor announced she would be pocketing an extra 2.4% on top of her existing salary and benefits while Calgarians were still reeling from her recent move to jack up property taxes by 7.8%.
The mayor now makes double that of her peers on council at $213,000 per year.
Gondek has defended the property tax hike, saying it will fund 28 new “investment priorities” which will cost approximately $600 million. These relate to the city’s housing strategy, public safety and transit.
According to ThinkHQ, Jyoti Gondek was reported in January to be the least popular mayor of Calgary in recorded history with a 61% disapproval rating.
