As a conspicuously frugal Etobicoke councillor, Rob Ford made a very public point about spending almost none of his office budget and paying some of his office expenses using his own personal funds. A staunch critic of councillors’ spending habits, Mr. Ford used his own website to publicize embarrassing invoices submitted by other politicians, obtained through access to information requests.
In his current position, Mr. Ford has continued his crusade to slash discretionary spending by municipal politicians, and he claims to have spent just $1,718.46 for mayor’s office expenses for the first quarter of 2011.
But a Globe and Mail investigation of the mayor’s office budget indicates clear gaps in official expense disclosure documents that raise questions about how Mr. Ford pays for routine expenditures associated with a busy 17-person operation.
Notably absent is any evidence of how – and how much – Mr. Ford pays for mayor’s office supplies, such as letterhead, and his mobile phone, which he uses frequently to communicate with Toronto residents. Even the most frugal councillors routinely expense service packages for smartphones, which are obligatory equipment for busy politicians. Such subscriptions can run to thousands of dollars a year.
In an e-mail, the city’s integrity commissioner Janet Leiper pointed to Section 4.6 of council’s expense policy, which requires councillors to publicly disclose such expenses, even if they are paid for with private funds. The document, last updated in January, appears to make no distinction between councillor and mayor.
That particular policy, as it happens, traces back to a November, 2007, report by auditor-general Jeff Griffiths, who concluded that Mr. Ford had violated council’s expense policy by failing to declare “the extent of the personal funds expended in relation to the operation of his Council office.” Mr. Griffiths couldn’t determine how much Mr. Ford had spent personally on outlays such as postage, mileage, cellphone bills and stationery due to a lack of records. The seven-page report also states that Mr. Ford advised the auditor-general that no third-party funds had been used.
Mr. Ford’s officials responded to repeated questions about his current expenses by saying they were “unable to fulfill” the request for information.
Full Article
Source: Globe & Mail
In his current position, Mr. Ford has continued his crusade to slash discretionary spending by municipal politicians, and he claims to have spent just $1,718.46 for mayor’s office expenses for the first quarter of 2011.
But a Globe and Mail investigation of the mayor’s office budget indicates clear gaps in official expense disclosure documents that raise questions about how Mr. Ford pays for routine expenditures associated with a busy 17-person operation.
Notably absent is any evidence of how – and how much – Mr. Ford pays for mayor’s office supplies, such as letterhead, and his mobile phone, which he uses frequently to communicate with Toronto residents. Even the most frugal councillors routinely expense service packages for smartphones, which are obligatory equipment for busy politicians. Such subscriptions can run to thousands of dollars a year.
In an e-mail, the city’s integrity commissioner Janet Leiper pointed to Section 4.6 of council’s expense policy, which requires councillors to publicly disclose such expenses, even if they are paid for with private funds. The document, last updated in January, appears to make no distinction between councillor and mayor.
That particular policy, as it happens, traces back to a November, 2007, report by auditor-general Jeff Griffiths, who concluded that Mr. Ford had violated council’s expense policy by failing to declare “the extent of the personal funds expended in relation to the operation of his Council office.” Mr. Griffiths couldn’t determine how much Mr. Ford had spent personally on outlays such as postage, mileage, cellphone bills and stationery due to a lack of records. The seven-page report also states that Mr. Ford advised the auditor-general that no third-party funds had been used.
Mr. Ford’s officials responded to repeated questions about his current expenses by saying they were “unable to fulfill” the request for information.
Full Article
Source: Globe & Mail
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