Let's stop to think about how councillors spend our money
Consultants, office staff, wagon rides — how do you want to see city councillors use their budgets?
Coun. Jeff Leiper doesn't spend a cent of taxpayer money on promotional items.
"I don't think the residents of Kitchissippi want to see me spending money on things that have my name on them," he said.
That makes him an outlier among most of his council colleagues. The other thing that sets him apart? He spent $45,000 of taxpayer money as of last August on professional services, much of it on research and consultants.
He's paid Citizens for Safe Cycling $3,700 to collect data that Leiper thinks is key for knowing how best to update the city's cycling plan. He's spent more than $5,000 on professional consultation for the future of the Rosemount Public Library. And he spent thousands more to consult residents on how to spend the ward's cash-in-lieu of parkland fund.
He even spent a few thousand to create the I Bike I Buy app, which collects data on how much cyclists spend when biking around town.
- How city councillors are spending your money
- A year-by-year look at how councillors spend their office budgets
Leiper wasn't the top spender on professional services. That was Capital ward Coun. David Chernushenko, who used more than $65,000 of his office budget on consultation and, to a larger degree, professional services to manage his website, and to edit and issue his electronic newsletters.
In second place is Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney who spent $62,000, a third of that on communications services related to his official role with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Still, Leiper's spending sticks out as unusual, and he knows it. He also thinks he can defend it.
"I'm not sure that any other councillors have spent their office budgets creating an app," he said. "I promised residents in the election that I was going to spend my money on research and facilitation."
Community events
Hubley spent more than $36,000 of his office budget putting on an International Women's Day breakfast, a seniors social and a safety day. He also sponsors a Canada Day celebration in Kanata "that brings out 30,000-plus every year, making us the second-biggest [party] in the city next to downtown," wrote Hubley in an email.
He adds to that list Scaring Is Caring — an autumn event to raise money for and awareness of youth mental health — three tree-lighting ceremonies and seven wagon rides. He said he doesn't sign up many corporate sponsors for these events, "which is the more common practice."
That's a whack of events in Kanata South, largely thanks to how the councillor spends his $257,000 office budget. Leiper, on the other hand, spent less than $5,000 on community events in Kitchissippi ward.
Two very different sets of priorities for public spending. Which is right? Only you can say.
Getting philosophical
The philosophy underlying the councillors' expense policy is that elected officials are "ultimately accountable to the public and their constituents for the type and level of expenses they incur."
That makes sense. Constituents are the ultimate judge of how councillors are performing. But as our series this week has shown, it's not always that easy to see exactly how — or on precisely what — our councillors are spending our cash.
The information presented this week, as well as the line-by-line raw data that shows itemized expenditures, should give you a clearer picture of how councillors are overseeing your ward's money. And in deciding what is worthwhile spending, you might want to ask yourself a few questions, including:
- Are my councillors' priorities my priorities? Leiper has made no secret of being a cycling advocate, so his spending in this field is hardly a surprise. But perhaps cycling isn't your biggest concern. Maybe you'd like a few more wagon rides in your ward.
- Am I getting value for my money? Somerset ward Coun. Catherine McKenney spends the most on staff: almost $600,000 as of last August. She says she gets dozens of emails a day that require researched responses. She considers her four full-time staffers "mini-experts" who help her deal with planning and transportation files — think Elgin Street reconstruction. She has little left over in her office budget for much else. That spending is worth it if her constituents feel they're getting good service from her office.
- Do I care about the amount being spent? In the big picture, councillors are spending relatively small amounts of our cash. Even if you don't agree with some of the expenses — and feel free to let your councillor know if you don't — maybe it just doesn't matter to you if you think you're being represented well at City Hall.
- Is the spending benefiting my ward or my councillor? You might ask yourself this when you see your councillor picking up the tab at a restaurant. Or wonder why you need to be represented by your councillor at a gala. But what about greyer areas of spending? Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Tobi Nussbaum spent the most from his office budget going to conferences. He spent $6,900 going to three conferences outside Ottawa on subjects such as urban planning and transportation. He's spoken at some of them and written a report from one conference published in Policy Options magazine. Is this furthering his own reputation, or is this making him a better representative of the people of his ward?
To serve, or re-elect?
One last thing to consider in this election year: Is your councillor using your money to serve you, or to run for re-election?
Unless there's been some egregious scandal, incumbents have a natural advantage in election campaigns — especially on the municipal front where there are no political parties involved. Some of this cannot be avoided.
"I was here a week when I realized what an advantage I had compared to being a candidate," said McKenney. "Within a week, I could be at meetings, I could have my name out there, just by virtue of talking to you. That's just the way it is. People see me on the news, they hear my voice — you can't recreate that as a candidate. It's almost impossible."
Still, it means that over the next few months, we should be even more vigilant about how councillors are spending their office budgets. Are the flyers being delivered to our doors truly informative? Do we really need water bottles with our councillors' names on them when we drop by events this summer?
It may not always feel like it, but we are the ones ultimately in control of what happens at City Hall. Leiper says he's always heard positive feedback on the research and consultation he's paid for. On Oct. 22, he'll know for sure.