Non-Spending Controversy Flares At City Hall

Taxpayers hate the way politicians spend their money.

And now it turns out some politicians also hate the way their colleagues spend their cash.

But it’s not in the way you’d think.

At least it looks that way at Toronto City Hall.

In the topsy-turvy world that few of us can penetrate, some city councillors have demanded others be placed under investigation for not spending enough of their annual budget.

Members of the city’s executive committee want a probe into the spending – or non-spending – habits of two of its most penurious members, Doug Holyday and Rob Ford.

Councillors are provided with a yearly stipend of $53,100 to spend however they need to carry out their duties. It can include everything from stationery to paper clips.

But Holyday’s list of expenditures for 2006 only totaled $1,471, while the penny-pinching Ford didn’t spend a single dime.

Now other council members want to know how they’re managing to fork over so little while still getting everything done.

Ward 7’s Georgio Mammoliti is behind the fight to discover the cheapskates’ secrets, wondering if they’re actually spending their own money on the necessities – an act that technically isn’t within the rules of the city’s Code of Conduct for councillors.

Ford contends the city loses nothing if he pays his own way and his re-election record proves voters agree.

He insists he’s proud of those ‘penny-pinching’ nicknames. “Absolutely. If that’s what they want to call me.”

Mammoliti understands why his crusade would seem odd to taxpayers, but he contends there’s a good reason for it.

“Some feel there’s third party donations coming into a councillor’s office and we want to know whether or not that’s the case,” he answers.

So how does Ford explain his lack of expenditures for the bare necessities? Two sets of two words: good planning and good deals.

“I’ve been elected 7 years. When I first got elected, I bought 10,000 business cards and 10,000 letterhead and envelopes. And I still have them.”

How do constituents feel about all this back-and-forth over money?

“I think that possibly maybe he’s being prudent about what he’s spending,” suggests Janet Turner. 

“If he wants office equipment, he should use his own money,” feels Debbie Leon. 

But Ford maintains he’s got nothing to hide and welcomes any internal investigation into his spending. Or lack of it.

“There’s nothing there,” he proclaims. “Investigate what? Zero. Zero”

Holyday is on vacation until next week. There’s no immediate word on where he is – or  who paid for his trip.

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So how much did your rep spend on office equipment and other needs this year? Here’s the list from the year ending December 31, 2006. Expenses that don’t cover the full year are highlighted by the number in parenthesis.

Office Expenses

Paul Ainslie: $32,182 (10 months)
Gerry Altobello: $19,186 (5.5 months)
Brian Ashton: $34,365
Maria Augimeri: $40,185

Harvey Barron: $12,550 (4.25 months)
Sandra Bussin: $50,666

Shelley Carroll: $37,229
Raymond Cho: $48,527
Gay Cowbourne: $23,577 (11 months)

Janet Davis: $45,715
Glen De Baeremaeker: $51,783
Mike Del Grande: $33,821
Frank Di Giorgio: $49,745

Mike Feldman: $14,319
John Filion: $45,383
Paula Fletcher: $50,850
Rob Ford: $0

Adam Giambrone: $52,922
Mark Grimes: $52,758

Suzan Hall: $41,637
A.A. Heaps: $3,862 (1 month)
Doug Holyday: $1,471

Cliff Jenkins: $29,751

Norm Kelly: $51,758

Chin Lee: $3,787 (1 month)
Peter Li Preti: $47,946 (11 months)
Gloria Lindsay Luby: $37,062

George Mammoliti: $49,795
Pam McConnell: $43,549
Joe Mivehc: $52,785
Peter Milczyn: $26,033
Denzil Minnan-Wong: $46,633
Ron Moeser: $3,658 (1 month)
Howard Moscoe: $10,636

Frances Nunziata: $2,816

Case Ootes: $45,372

Cesar Palacio: $52,353
Joe Panatlone: $43,313
John Parker: $2,510 (1 month)
Gord Perks: $2,159 (1 month)
Anthony Peruzza: $4,256 (1 month)
Jane Pitfield: $40,926 (11 months)

Kyle Rae: $46,169

Bill Saundercook: $47,757
David Shiner: $46,445
Mario Silva: $12,089 (10 months)
David Soknacki: $23,404 (11 months)
Karen Stintz: $42,724

Michael Thompson: $41,470

Adam Vaughan: $4,423 (1 month)

Michael Walker: $51,319
Sylvia Watson: $34,556 (11 months)

To see the breakdown of the expenses, click here. (.pdf file)