The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor City Hall may look at capping wage reimbursements for councillors who miss work while on municipal business. This comes at the suggestion of concerned citizen Blair Sapergia, who last week reiterated his worries about how much cash a self-employed councillor could conceivably claim. "It's the self-employed where the glitch has always been," he told council during their regular meeting of Aug. 16. When Sapergia stated that council was previously unable to tell him whether there was a cap on reimbursements, Coun. Bill Hanson said it is "probably because it's never been abused." City treasurer Glenna Daschuk said that in her 12 years on the job, she has never had a self-employed councillor put in a claim for lost wages. "But one day somebody's going to submit one, and I'm just raising flags," Sapergia later said. Coun. Colleen McKee, sitting as mayor in George Fontaine's absence, told Sapergia he had "a point well taken" and agreed council should investigate the matter. But she urged Sapergia to put his request in writing, saying this would allow the matter to be sent to a council committee for further examination. There was no further examination required for the cost of a professional development trip that saw five of seven council members fly to Halifax in June. Sapergia, who has repeatedly raised concerns about the trip, was told that the final tab was $12,829.99. 'Awful cheap' When Sapergia said that figure sounded "awful cheap," Coun. McKee pointed out that not all councillors necessarily let taxpayers pay for their flight. "Maybe some people were doing this (as a) part vacation and they chose to pay for their own," said Coun. McKee, who chairs the all-important Finance Committee. Coun. McKee said she appreciates residents who keep tabs on city expenditures but added that she has found council to be "pretty fiscally conservative." She added that she is "willing to blow the whistle on anyone" who spends public money in an irresponsible way. Sapergia, who felt sending all but two councillors to Halifax was "a bit over the top," said he was also disappointed by the lack of public discussion ahead of the conference. He said he would like to see council publicly vote on such trips ahead of time. Special attention That had Coun. Tim Babcock wondering why this particular municipal expenditure warrants special attention. "I don't totally disagree with what you're saying, but I mean, it's budgeted that we spend money every year on travel," he told Sapergia. "So, there are a lot of things that are budgeted that we don't vote on at every meeting. Why is this one important all of a sudden? Like, we don't vote when we're paying (Director of Works and Operations) Rick Bacon's salary." Coun. Skip Martin asked whether Sapergia would be satisfied if council made a pronouncement, rather than a resolution, before councillors attend another conference. Sapergia said that was just what he was looking for, but Coun. McKee still encouraged him to put his request in writing.
