Quebec City trip for FCM meetings costs Charlottetown taxpayers almost $44,000

Share:

Federation of Canadian Municipalities meetings are supposed to be a chance for mayors to discuss municipal issues

It cost Charlottetown taxpayers almost $44,000 to send seven members of city council and three city staff members to Quebec City in May for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) meetings.

The meetings ran May 30 to June 2.

Mayor Philip Brown was joined on the trip by councillors Alanna Jankov, Terry MacLeod, Mike Duffy, Mitchell Tweel, Kevin Ramsay, Greg Rivard and Terry Bernard.

Councillors Julie McCabe and Bob Doiron were originally supposed to go but both dropped out. However, the city was still made to pay $253 for accommodations for Doiron while the city was forced to pay $499 for conference fees and $253 for accommodations for McCabe.

The City of Charlottetown released the information to the media on Tuesday. The Guardian requested Summerside’s expenses from the FCM meetings but a spokesman said they’re still waiting for a couple of councillors to submit their receipts.

Most of the councillors racked up bills of around $3,000 to $4,000 each, except for Doiron and McCabe whose totals were much lower because they didn’t actually end the meetings.

Coun. Jason Coady did not attend the meetings.

City taxpayers also footed the $2,596 bill to send tourism officer Laurel Lea to the meetings, $4,282 to send Wayne Long, the city’s events development officer, and $3,430 for the mayor’s executive assistant Jill Stewart.

To use the mayor as an example when breaking down what the money was spent on, Brown’s bill included almost $1,000 to take part in the various workshops, a per diem of $750, $40 for ground transportation, $138 for external meetings, $760 for accommodations and $790 for airfare.

The per diem totals for mayor and council were all north of $625 while Lea, Long and Stewart had per diem bills of $545 each.

A couple of the councillors’ wives were also on the trip, but Brown said the city didn’t handle their expenses.

“This is all a part of (being) open, transparent and accountable,’’ Brown said Tuesday after the expenses were made public. “I know we’ll be scrutinized for it.’’

The mayor said more than 2,000 delegates took part in the conference, which featured 150-plus industry experts who gave workshops on the latest trends in public works, parks and recreation, technology and just about everything municipalities deal with. The big expenses were airfare, accommodations and the workshops, which were about $1,000 per person.

“Is it money well spent? Well, I got a lot out of it, I did,’’ Brown said. “I enjoyed every bit of it. There were over 40 engaging workshops. I didn’t attend them all, but those I did attend were very informative. Those workshops were laid out very much in a professional manner, and the speakers they brought in knew their (stuff)’’

Brown said the meetings he found most helpful were on how municipalities are dealing with affordable and accessible housing and short-term rental issues.

“I did a lot of networking with other councillors and other mayors from other parts of the country. Yes, there is a cost, and I know that residents will say, ‘Wow, how much do we have to spend for these councilors, these elected officials (to go)? But, in the end, for me, it’s a learning process and to learn it does cost money.’’

Brown said there will be a review prior to next year’s FCM meeting in Toronto. He would love to send up just as many people but said the question has to be asked, does the end justify the means?

The city had budgeted about $55,000 for mayor and council to attend events like the FCM meetings. Once the city hits that figure any further requests have to go through the finance department.

BILL BREAKDOWN

Following is a breakdown of what it cost to send mayor, council and staff to FCM meetings in Quebec City in May:

  • Mayor Philip Brown - $3,478
  • Coun. Alanna Jankov - $3,794
  • Coun. Terry MacLeod - $4,194
  • Coun. Mike Duffy - $4,236
  • Coun. Mitchell Tweel - $4,770
  • Coun. Kevin Ramsay - $4,166
  • Coun. Bob Doiron - $253 (booked to go but eventually pulled out)
  • Coun. Greg Rivard - $3,845
  • Coun. Julie McCabe - $753 (booked to go but eventually pulled out)
  • Coun. Terry Bernard - $4,192
  • Coun. Jason Coady – 0 (did not attend)
  • Laurel Lea, tourism officer - $2,596
  • Wayne Long, events development officer - $4,282
  • Jill Stewart, executive assistant to mayor - $3,430
  • Total - $43,993