Most city councillors spending right to the cap

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This article was published 21/03/2018 (2903 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two-thirds of Winnipeg city councillors used up all the money in their proverbial piggy banks in 2017, with only a handful reporting in at less than the $81,924 allocated through the ward allowance.

That figure also includes carryover funds (up to 10 per cent of their annual allowance) that can be rolled over into their budgets for the following year. Among the councillors who used all $81,924 allocated to them, all managed to roll over a bit for 2018 — although some more than others.

The thriftiest member in 2017 was Coun. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), who came in more than $13,500 under budget. That includes $5,417 Gerbasi was able to return to the city’s coffers, plus $8,192 she was able to roll over for expenses in 2018.

Gerbasi, the longest-serving member of city council, announced earlier this month she would not seek a sixth term in the next civic election in October.

The biggest spender appears to have been Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona), who found himself among the group maxed out by Dec. 31, 2017. Wyatt only has $19.78 in carryover funds for 2018.

Meanwhile, Mayor Brian Bowman appears to be a bit late getting in some of his paperwork.

Bowman is the first Winnipeg mayor subjected to the same sorts of conditions councillors are when it comes to expenses (such as an annual cap on spending and the posting of monthly expense reports online for public view). The policy was implemented in January 2017.

But as of Wednesday, the mayor’s expenses for December 2017 had yet to be posted, despite the fact the expenditure policy makes clear they should have been released by the end of last week, at the latest.

“The corporate finance department will post the mayor’s office’s expenses, including year-to-date expenditure details, by transaction, on the city’s website within 60 days of the end of each month, except for December and January each year, where postings will occur as quickly as possible, but no later than within 75 days of the end of these months,” the policy reads.

That would have given the mayor until March 16 to post his expense reports. When reached for comment Wednesday, a spokesman for the mayor said: “The expenses for December will be released very soon. Likely sometime next week.”

Between January and November 2017, the mayor charged $1,574,271 in expenses against his annual budget of $1,862,503.

A close second for thriftiest councillor last year was Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan), who rolled over the maximum $8,192 into his expenses for 2018, while also returning around $3,500 to the city’s pocketbook.

Wyatt, who’s been on an unexplained leave of absence from city hall since Jan. 25, held his title for being the city councillor most likely to be spotted at a local restaurant conducting a business meeting.

In 2017, Wyatt charged $2,613 to his city account for business meetings at various Winnipeg restaurants and steakhouses, more than doubling Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert), who came in second at $1,246.

In contrast, Couns. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Shawn Dobson (St. Charles) did not make a single business meeting meal expense during the year, while many others only made a handful.

Meanwhile, Coun. Marty Morantz (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge) led the way in spending roughly 16 per cent of his annual budget ($13,789) on advertising. A close second was Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital), who dropped roughly $11,000 on advertising in 2017.

In February, citing a lack of staff, City of Winnipeg auditor Bryan Mansky said the annual audit of expenses for councillors and the mayor’s office (normally completed by July) would be delayed until December 2018 — two months after the civic election.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: rk_thorpe