Panel chair paid $1.7M to review Bearspaw pipe after catastrophic break: city memo - CBC

Siegfried Kiefer chaired a panel that studied the 2024 failure of the Bearspaw south feeder main. The panel's report was released today. (CBC)Social SharingMore than $1.7 million was spent by the city to compensate the chair of an independent panel brought on to review Calgary's catastrophic water main break in 2024.

The city released a memo on Wednesday detailing the total amount it has paid to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main Independent Review Panel's members. The panel was convened after the 2024 rupture of Calgary's key water feeder main, to assess why it happened and make recommendations to improve the city's water system.

The total cost of the panel's work was roughly $2.3 million. Within that envelope, more than $1.7 million was paid to panel chair and former longtime ATCO executive Siegfried Kiefer. About $80,000 was paid to each of the five other panel members. 

While most members were paid at a fixed rate, Kiefer received hourly compensation for his panel work.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas said on Wednesday the terms of the deal were negotiated by the city and called for by the previous council, before his term began. He said he and other current councillors have legitimate concerns around the panel's compensation.

“This is higher than I’d like to see,” said Farkas.

“Given this was a decision that was made in an emergency setting by elected officials before my time, I have no choice but to accept that this has been done. But I’m not going to accept that we’ll continue to pay out these types of large sums.”

The estimated budget range for the panel was $1 million to $2 million, chief administrative officer David Duckworth told council in late 2024.

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The compensation still largely aligns with what advisory panels receive at the federal and provincial government levels, Farkas said, and he praised the work that's resulted from the panel report's recommendations to strengthen the city's water system.

Farkas also said the city paid private-sector rates, to ensure an extra set of eyes on the work that was independent of municipal staff.

But going forward, Farkas said council will cap how much it compensates Calgary's new Water Utility Oversight Board, which was assembled to provide independent advice on how the city's water system is managed. The new oversight board came from a panel recommendation.

The city publicized the compensation details after council voted on Tuesday to disclose how much each panellist was paid.

Before council’s vote, Kiefer praised the city’s decision to consult industry leaders through the panel.

Kiefer said he would have gladly paid more than what the city spent to get the level of qualified work and expertise the panel provided, adding that the report delivered "terrific value" to Calgarians for decades to come.

“They actually asked people who operate critical infrastructure as to how to undertake the review and who engaged in it,” Kiefer told CBC News on Monday.

“The report itself, I think, stands on its own merits. And I think not just the City of Calgary, but many other cities have looked at it and are complimentary that it was a well-written, properly understood kind of report, and the city is actually following the recommendations.”

City council voted in January to move forward with the panel's recommendations, which included accelerating work to twin the Bearspaw feeder main by early next year, while repairing the current pipe. Its decision came shortly after a second catastrophic pipe break in less than two years.

Construction on the replacement is nearly complete, the city said this week.

Coun. Jennifer Wyness was the one who initially called for council to publicize how much was spent on the panel. On Monday, she said she expected the details would garner a negative reaction from the public.

“I think they’ll be livid,” said Wyness.

“There’s an expectation that it’s going to the work of many different factors in the report. Councillors know how that breakdown is, and it is not divided out as equitably as we thought.”

A fixed-rate contract is preferable to an hourly rate for independent panels, Wyness said. She added that one member of a board receiving hourly compensation, while other panellists work with a fixed rate represents a breakdown in governance and accountability.

Wyness argued council now has an opportunity to create a clear process for compensation models on similar panels in the future, especially as one of her colleagues has called for an investigation into a recent bus explosion. She said council needs to ensure compensation aligns with Calgarians’ expectations.

The city's memo said the panel's total cost reflected its nine-month review, its engineering and technical expertise, additional work as the panel’s scope became more fully defined, and support while the city responded to the second catastrophic Bearspaw break.

Andrew Jeffrey is a multimedia journalist with CBC Calgary. He previously worked for CBC News in his hometown of Edmonton, reported for the StarMetro Calgary, and worked as an editor for Toronto-based magazines Strategy and Realscreen. You can reach him at andrew.jeffrey@cbc.ca.