Conference budget overspent by Cornwall council

(Newswatch Group/File)

CORNWALL – What has been billed by some councillors as the must-attend conference of the year has pushed the city’s conference and professional development budget over the top.

The outgoing Cornwall city council will review its expense statements Monday night at the last council meeting before the new council is sworn in.

The statements are all expenses up to the end of September. In other words, it won’t include expenses until the new council is sworn in Dec. 1. The budgets have also been pro-rated to reflect the shortened year.

As of the end of September, council was already $700 over the $25,000 conferences and professional development budget.

That was mostly due to a $5,300 charge for mileage, meals and hotel rooms in August to send six councillors and the mayor to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in London, Ontario. Mayor Kilger also attended the French equivalent conference and the city was billed $776 for that trip.

Conversely, the $10,000 public relations budget was under budget. Council had spent $2,094 while Mayor Bob Kilger had spent $4,133 as of the end of September.

As for incidental items, city council has overspent slightly for food and beverages at meetings but is way under budget for office supplies, membership and association fees and BlackBerry charges.

Mayor Bob Kilger has spent $9,117.02 of his $11,000 budget with two months left in his tenure, the report reflected.

The big run on councillor expenses in August and September were jackets and golf shirts. No less than six $35 golf shirts and two $50 jackets were bought by elected officials on their expense accounts. Here’s a rundown of the total expenses charged to the city as of the end of September:

  • David Murphy $882.12
  • Glen Grant $760.10
  • Andre Rivette $750.33
  • Denis Carr $691.32
  • Syd Gardiner $589.31
  • Maurice Dupelle $485.19
  • Denis Thibault $405.97
  • Gerry Samson $360.97
  • Bernadette Clement $275.97
  • Elaine MacDonald $0.00

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