Print

E-mail

Text

Toronto councillors need their $53,100 office budgets - they just need some consistent rules on how they're spent, said Mayor David Miller this week.

"The office budget's very important," said Miller Wednesday during a Christmas music event at Nathan Phillips Square. "It's about members of council being able to work with their community constituents and communicate with them. Some wards are very, very active, some are less active, and you can understand that in a city where there are great differences in neighbourhoods, the office budget is there to be used."

Miller made the comments a day after announcing he'd asked the city clerk for a report on ways to clarify the rules for using those office budgets. He made the call just a week after a confusing and politically-charged report came forward about two of Toronto council's lowest spenders, Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) Councillor Rob Ford and Ward 3 (Etobicoke Centre) Councillor Doug Holyday.

That report, issued jointly from the city's auditor general and integrity commissioner, criticized Ford for failing to file office expenses with the city clerk. Ford initially refused because the rules governing councillors indicate that a councillor must not only file expenses but be reimbursed for them - something Ford said he was unwilling to do.

Later in the week, city communications staff issued a news release saying that Ford could in fact file his receipts and ask not to be reimbursed, in apparent contradiction to the city's written policy.

Miller said the policy, which has been amended five times since amalgamation, needs an overhaul. But he hesitated to suggest how the rules might change or indeed, if they would.

"We need a clear and simple and enforceable policy on councillors' expenses," Miller said. "I'm asking the clerk's advice. She has to administer the five policies we have and I'll wait for her advice."

He did say that he didn't think it was appropriate to expense alcohol - except for official functions.

"You'd have to speak to individual members of council about the way they do things," he said. "But it's my belief that the public shouldn't pay for alcohol when it's not for an official function. Ultimately though, it's the clerk's job to sign off on what's appropriate. She needs clear rules."

Miller also chastised the media, which has been focussing on the discretionary budgets and how they're spent in the wake of last week's report on Ford and Holyday.

"Frankly, I think members of council had an extremely difficult job and I wish members of the media had the time to be with them for all the hours they work," he said. "A busy councillor works seven days a week and they don't often see family. They work extremely hard and do a good job for members of the public."