No worries, family members of Kamloops City councillors have to pay for their own trips

 

NEWS — Kamloops taxpayers don’t have to worry about paying for travel by family members of the mayor and councillors. If they tag along they have to pay their own way.

The City’s remuneration bylaw used to allow them to bill the taxpayers for hotels and registration fees at some conferences, but the provision was axed in 2007.

It was rarely used before that, either. Finance director Sally Edwards can’t remember having ever processed an expense claim for a relative of a council member in her years at City Hall.

The current policy — it was changed from a bylaw in 2007 — allows the mayor and each member of council to claim travel expenses up to a maximum of $5,000 a year, less in total than a single trip expensed by Legislature Speaker Linda Reid for her husband to go with her to a conference in South Africa.

Reid came under fire this week for the $5,500 expense, and paid it back with an apology. Provincial policy allows MLAs to take “an accompanying person” with them on travel.

If the Kamloops mayor or councillor goes over the $5,000 limit for travel on City business, prior approval has to be obtained from council, which means the council member would have to ask for the money in a public meeting and have it approved by a majority vote.

There’s an exception to the $5,000 rule for the mayor, who can hop on a plane and fly to Ottawa, for example, when government business dictates. Councillors wanting to serve on external committees or boards that require travel have to get approval from council, but that isn’t included in the $5,000.

When reimbursement for expenses is requested by a council member, receipts have to be submitted.

In addition to the $5,000 cap, however, each council member can be authorized for overseas travel once per elected term. The most common one is travel to Kamloops’ sister city Uji in Japan every other year.

That usually involves airfare of about $1,500 apiece and incidentals. Tradition dictates that the host city pays hotel bills and ground transportation to meetings and sites, such as Uji’s world heritage Byodoin Temple. Most meals are also picked up by the host city.

Spouses of council members sometimes go along on that one.

Out-of-town travel allowances include a 52-cent per km. vehicle allowance when appropriate, meal and incidental expenses.