There was a heated discussion at Monday night’s Saint John council meeting over a proposed spending policy for community event tickets.
Saint John has a longstanding practice of setting aside money so councillors can attend community events, but up until now, there’s been no formal policy about how the money is utilized.
Coun. Blake Armstrong was visibly frustrated with how much time has been spent on the issue.
“$19,000 on a $156-million budget and we’re wasting time, you’ve got me on a rant about it,” says Armstrong.
“Think about this, we’re embarrassing ourselves, I’m embarrassing myself because we’re talking about this.”
Policy would improve transparency
Armstrong says council is supporting the community by attending these events and residents like to see their elected representatives there.
Deputy Mayor Shirley McAlary was the one that asked for the policy and says council needs to be transparent on how it spends the $19,000 budget.
Under the new policy, which passed first and second reading Monday night, the public would see how much each councillor spends on tickets every quarter.
Coun. Greg Norton voted against the motion and says his position is clear.
“Every member around this table does receive an annual sum as an allowance separate from their salary for the discharge of their duties,” says Norton. “I do see that as being the purchase of tickets, donations.”