A Calgary city councillor who leaked confidential budget documents to the media says he “would do it again,” but vows to keep future confidential information private and leave closed-door meetings when discussions “border on being unethical.”
Landon Johnston said on social media on Sept. 2 that he provided a Calgary reporter with confidential budget documents showing that property taxes could soar by 20 percent next year under one scenario.
However, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said that was one of several scenarios council was debating in private, and that the leak raised broader security, financial, and legal concerns.
In a Sept. 3 social media post, Farkas said the proposed 20 percent increase was based on adding together “every department request, every proposed program, every spending increase, every want and every wish,” as well as responsibilities downloaded from the provincial government….