Town of St. Paul council defeated a motion that would have enshrined council members' ability to claim an honorarium for attending any golf tournament while representing the Town, if they took the day off work, at council meeting on Oct. 24.
The motion arose during CAO Ron Boisvert's report to council, where he reviewed the list of groups prohibited from donating to political parties, which includes schools, banks, Metis Settlements, First Nations, colleges, unions, villages, towns, cities, or counties.
“Anything that receives provincial or federal money we (the association) cannot accept funds from," he said.
Boisvert, the treasurer of the local Progressive Conservative constituency association, reported that the association returned the $500 the Town had donated to participate in the Cormorant Classic.
Council had asked administration to look into the matter after national media attention and the Journal indicated Town taxpayers had paid the green fees for Ray Danyluk's Cormorant Classic this year, a fundraiser for the local Progressive Conservative association.
The association had contacted Boisvert in July and indicated it could not accept several cheques it received for the tournament, he said after the meeting. The association returned several cheques, some in July, with the balance of refunds in October, he said.
Council members who attended the tournament reimbursed the association $125 on Oct. 24. Accounting for a $25 meal, each participant received a $100 tax receipt. At the Oct. 24 council meeting, Boisvert told council members they could put in a claim to the public relations ledger to be reimbursed by the Town with an honorarium.
“It's pretty hard to expect councillors to go rub noses with other municipalities or political leaders, taking their day off work," Boisvert said, “and not get paid that reimbursement."
The ledger is part of the budget and covers council's participation in other golf tournaments or fundraising activities like the rodeo supper, he said after the meeting.
Council voted down the motion from Coun. Ken Kwiatkowski to pay an honorarium to anyone attending a golf tournament while representing the Town, effectively nixing Boisvert's suggestion to put in a claim for an honorarium.
Three of five councillors opposed Kwiatkowski's motion. Don Padlesky and Kwiatkowski voted in favour, outnumbered by Pat Gratton, Gary Ward and Danny White.
Gratton said he agreed with Boisvert that councillors should be reimbursed from the public relations fund, but voted against the motion.
At a recent conference of northern mayors and reeves, Andersen said he learned municipalities are “all over the map on the issue of political fundraisers. “There's not one consistency at all.
“There's no clarity in any of this stuff," he said. Andersen asked if the motion were any different than the municipality paying the association, as prohibited by the province.
“You're still using taxpayer dollars … Indirectly, it's going back to the same." He said he would rather pay his own way.
Ward agreed. “It's our own time … If you want to put money into the PCs or Liberals, that's your own choice. If you want to go golfing for a fundraiser for somebody, that's our own choice to do and if you want to take a day off to do it, so be it.
“We shouldn't put it on the back of our townspeople. They'd be paying for us to have a day off."
Boisvert asked for clarification on whether Kwiatkowski meant political or charity tournaments, as the Town pays the green fees at charity tournaments but not a per diem.
Kwiatkowski replied “every golf tournament."
“If you're taking a day off work, it's costing you money. Just because it's in the political end of things doesn't mean that you're obligated to do everything for nothing," he said. “My feeling is still we are representing the Town, and any time you are representing the Town, you should be paid for it."
He said it was unfair to pick part-time councillors out of the crowd and say that they should be donating out of their own pockets, while it does not apply to full-time politicians who would be paid on salary for the day.
Gratton asked if it would include just going for the supper, as commuting could be several hours. The motion applied only if someone takes time off work, replied Kwiatkowski.
Padlesky said with gas costs, councillors lose anyway. The province should provide guidance on whether a per diem is appropriate, he said.
