To the Editor:
This letter is in regards to County of St. Paul remuneration for its reeve and councillors. Rates that councillors receive for attending meetings or conventions and paying for meals, hotel accommodations and mileage is a small part of the County of St. Paul budget. Councillors should get paid in accordance to the going rates for the attendance of these functions and should not be out of pocket for these types of expenses.
What concerns me is that these expenses are paid in good faith. If one was to review the County of St. Paul minutes of the past year, you would find 50 per cent of the meetings had no councillors’ report. It sure seems to me they want a fair dollar for the attendance of the meetings/conventions with only 50 per cent of the meetings having a councillors’ report and next to nil with respect to reporting as a whole. The month of July marked the first and last report on Evergreen Regional Waste Management to council to date this year. Council may say there was nothing to report on and I have been told that. I disagree and wonder whether the County taxpayers are getting fair value for their dollar. I am also concerned whether council members are using the information they obtain from these meetings/conventions wisely. One will never know, when there is no accountability. I am looking forward to council reporting in the coming year.
Rob Tomlinson
County of St. Paul
