Mayor Linnsie Clark says she is happy with the transparency efforts of two councillors after her efforts in 2024 were rebuffed. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

CITY HALL

Medicine Hat mayor ‘pleased’ to see new transparency efforts pushed by councillors

Mar 18, 2025 | 2:15 PM

Mayor Linnsie Clark says she’s happy to see councillors pushing for more transparency and accountability at the City of Medicine Hat after her own initiatives last year were rebuffed.

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WATCH: Clark’s interview with CHAT News

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“I’m pleased that these are being put forward,” Clark said during an interview on CHAT News at Noon.

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“It’s a show of good government.”

Clark repeatedly asked city administrators to bring forward staff expenses, severance amounts and several other data points related to employees and logistics.

Her effort started in April 2024 and went through several delays, procedural hoops and motions before it was received for information by council at an October meeting.

There was no action by council, leaving her request essentially in limbo.

That was until recently when Couns. Andy McGrogan and Shila Sharps proposed several motions that together ask for many of the same items Clark asked for a year ago.

Graphic/CHAT News

After previewing their proposals at the March 3 and 17 council meetings, McGrogan and Sharps are poised to introduce five motions — three of which are related to employee information — at the April 7 meeting.

A motion by McGrogan directs city officials to publish senior staff expenses with line-item details such as business travel, meals and various other costs.

“Taxpayers have the right to know, and it shouldn’t be an onerous process for them to find out what city staff are making, what the expenses are,” he told reporters on March 3.

Sharps will request the city publish HR metrics similar to those posted by Calgary and other municipalities, including employee totals, voluntary and involuntary terminations, safety statistics and more.

“In an era where data-driven decision-making is paramount, the need for transparency and accountability in human resources management has never been more critical,” wrote Sharps in her motion previewed Monday.

That proposal comes amid several high-profile departures from the City of Medicine Hat in recent months.

Over the course of January and February, the city’s chief financial officer, head of IT, an economic development officer and several other officials left their roles.

Another motion from Sharps directs staff to implement a “transparent reporting mechanism regarding severance payments.”

This motion, too, advances transparency, Sharps said.

When asked if the information her and now, to an extent, the councillors are asking for could have been made public earlier, Clark said she’s just happy they are up for consideration now.

— With files from Dan Reynish