Spurred by Cochrane councillor Morgan Nagel’s notice of motion this past week to have council members and the mayor disclose their salary, benefits and expenses on a quarterly basis to the public, the Eagle has acquired the expense reports for each councillor, as well as the mayor spanning from 2011 to March 2014.
Up until the end of March of this year, Mayor Ivan Brooker and councillor Jeff Toews are the only two on council so far who have submitted any expenses for 2014.
Brooker has claimed a total of $1,960.45 for the year so far – here are his expenses broken down:
- Mileage for January, February and March: $561.60
- Mayors’ Caucus (Edmonton, March 5-7) accommodation and meals: $422.29
- Lions dinner: $60
- Seniors on the Bow coffee: $21.46
- Flight to Niagara Falls for Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) 2014 Annual Conference and Trade Show (May 30-June2): $614.41
- Ottawa trip: $280.69
Brooker’s flight to Ottawa was paid for out of pocket and, because his stay coincided with that of fiancé Tracy Smyth’s, who was in Ottawa representing Sport 4 Life, which had covered her hotel room, there was no charge for Brooker’s accommodation.
Of the money Brooker spent in Ottawa, $108.42 was spent on transportation from his hotel to Parliament Hill and $172.27 was spend on meals.
The purpose of Brooker’s trip to Ottawa was to meet with local Wild Rose MP Blake Richards to advocate for federal funding for Cochrane’s pool/curling facility.
While in the nation’s capital, Brooker also sat in on a session of Parliament.
Cochrane’s mayor and councillors are able to expense mileage and meal costs when they travel outside of town limits (and accommodation when necessary). A trip to Airdrie, for example, would cost approximately $50 in mileage fees.
Coun. Toews has made expense claims amounting to $379.53 for 2014 thus far, the vast majority of which were for meetings with relation to fundraising for the pool/curling facility, including two with potential donors and one with the chair of the Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Park Society to discuss the future project.
Toews said he has had around 20 meetings since January with various groups, none of which he submitted any expense claims for.
Coun. Nagel said he is excited about the piece of ‘democratic reform’ he put forward for council’s consideration. “My fellow councillors and the mayor have assured me that they have followed all appropriate expensing laws and procedures,” said Nagel. “However, I believe the public deserves to always know how our elected officials are using taxpayer’s money, without ever having to ask.”
Salaries, benefits and expenses have always been part of the public forum for Cochrane council, but not with the frequency Nagel is proposing.
Cochrane’s previous council did not approve an increase in remuneration for councillors or the mayor back in 2012, despite a recommendation to do so by the Council Remuneration Task Force, which had compared the salaries of like-communities in the Calgary area.
The mayor’s current salary is $66,690, while councillors bring in $25,725. The task force had recommended a salary of $80,510 for the mayor and $27,100 for councillors to reflect the cost of living and market adjustments.
Canmore’s mayor has a base remuneration of $72,412.
The Municipal Government Act requires that salaries and benefits for mayors and councillors be made public.
A base salary is released, as is benefits, which includes medical and dental, as well as expenses.
For 2013, council expenses (not including health, dental, CPP, etc. benefits) were as follows:
Cochrane’s former mayor, Truper McBride, expensed $3,664.86; Brooker (as a councillor and mayor) expensed $3,387.81; former councillor Ivan Davies ($2,018.06); councillor Tara McFadden ($3,218.19); Toews ($3,513.76); former councillor Joann Churchill ($41.75); councillors Ross Watson, Gaynor Levisky, Mary Lou Davis and Nagel did not report any expenses for 2013.
The 2013 FCM Annual Conference and Trade Show was held in Vancouver, which was attended by a handful of councillors and would have accounted for a large portion of their expenses for the year.
“This motion isn’t so much about getting answers to recent questions,” said Nagel of his proposal, “as it is about setting a precedent for the rest of our term and for future councils.”
