Taking stock of expenses
Towns of Stratford and Cornwall spend almost identical amounts at FCM meetings in Quebec City
Two Charlottetown-area municipalities spent almost $15,000 to send members of council to Quebec City in May for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) meetings.
The Town of Stratford sent Deputy Mayor Gary Clow and councillors Gail MacDonald, Derek Smith and Steve Gallant, costing taxpayers $14,596.
The Town of Cornwall sent Mayor Minerva McCourt, Deputy Mayor Cory Stevenson and councillors Elaine Barnes, Corey Frizzell and Shane McGuigan, ringing up a bill of $14,591.
In Stratford’s case, MacDonald flew up at a cost of $1,750 while the others drove. Clow’s transportion bill was $919 as was Gallant’s. Smith charged $801.
In terms of accommodations, Clow, Smith and Gallant had the same $1,144 bills while MacDonald’s bill was $989.
And, in regards to registrations for workshops at the conference, the bills were — Clow ($1,178), MacDonald ($1,096), Smith ($999) and Gallant ($1,402).
The Guardian recently reported that the City of Charlottetown spent almost $44,000 to send seven members of council and three city staff to the FCM meetings. The City of Summerside has yet to release its expenses for the meetings.
In terms of breaking down Cornwall’s expenses, McCourt spent $964 on things like flight and hotel, received a $460 per diem and spent $1,004 on FCM registration.
Stevenson spent $1,261 on things like flight and hotel, received a $460 per diem and spent $1,004 on FCM registration.
Frizzell spent $1,526 on things like flight and hotel, received a $690 per diem and spent $1,010 on FCM registration.
McGuigan spent $1,364 on things like flight and hotel, received a $690 per diem and spent $1,004 on FCM registration.
And, Barnes spent $1,460 on things like flight and hotel, received a $690 per diem and spent $1,004 on FCM registration.
Cornwall councillors were given $115 per day for their per diems.
Stratford Mayor Steve Ogden, who didn’t attend the FCM meetings, said due to a tight budget the town reduced its FCM spending this year by almost $6,000.
“I’ve been on council for eight years and I’ve been to probably over half the FCM meetings and I always found that it was really beneficial,’’ Ogden said, noting that the four councillors who represented the town met every morning to decide who was attending the different workshops. “Our new asset management system came from learning what took place at the FCM (meetings).’’
Cornwall Mayor Minerva McCourt said they tried to keep expenses down in Quebec City by using transit the entire time rather than taxis.
“Our expenses were very low,’’ McCourt said. “I think that’s a sign of efficient planning. Every effort was made to keep costs at a minimum.’’
Ogden said the four councillors also briefed the rest of council when they got back and the mayor plans an allday session in the fall to cover everything learned in fine detail and put plans together.
FCM meetings can cover everything from the latest in transit to new road safety practices.
“On the infrastructure side, we really wanted to see what innovations were taking place in terms of (water and sewer) lift stations and the energy savings. We really pride ourselves on being sustainable so we’re really interested to see how we can apply things like solar panels to power lift stations or how we can retrofit some of our existing infrastructure to increase sustainability.’’
Ogden said every dime spent on sending councillors to FCM meetings is checked and rechecked.
“It’s not like anyone has a blank slate.’’