Winnipeg, MB - A motion proposing to make the purchase of all alcohol an ineligible Councillor expense will be tabled at today's Executive Policy Committee meeting Mayor Brian Bowman announced today.
“As elected members, we are stewards of taxpayer money and we need to ensure the expenses we incur are reasonable and reflect what the public expects of their elected representatives,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “I believe that all alcohol, regardless of the reason it’s purchased, should not be an expense borne by taxpayers.”
Currently, the Councillor Ward Allowance Fund Policy identifies alcohol as an eligible expense when purchased as part of receptions for constituents, business contacts, representatives of other levels of government, municipal associations, and international delegations or visitors.
The proposed motion, if passed by Council, would make all purchases of alcohol by Councillors an ineligible expense.
Last year, Mayor Bowman was the first Mayor of Winnipeg to adopt and implement an office expenditure policy for the Office of the Mayor. Unlike the current Councillor Ward Allowance Fund Policy, the Mayor’s Office Expenditure policy already identifies alcohol as an ineligible expense, and allowing the expensing of alcohol as protocol gifts has been eliminated from the policy.
“There’s no need for taxpayers to pick up the tab for alcohol purchased by elected officials regardless of whether it’s purchased for a reception, as a gift, or during a business lunch meeting,” said Mayor Bowman. “As well, this change, if adopted by Council, will help ensure the rules and expectations of all elected members as it relates to the purchasing and expensing of alcohol are clear and consistent.”
A copy of the proposed motion and the Mayor’s Office Expenditure Policy are available on Mayor Bowman’s website, www.mayorbowman.ca.