The spending of public money by elected and appointed officials is a matter of ethics and accountability

By Staff

May 6th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

Each member of Council is given $10,400 each year to cover costs incurred while doing their jobs: mileage, postage – the full list is set out below.

The Mayor, the City CAO, the City Clerk and Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan are part of the city delegation currently in Apeldoorn commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Holland.

The full list of those part of the official delegation is shown below.

• Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
• Rory Nisan, Ward 3 Councillor and Council Liaison on the Mundialization Committee
• Hassaan Basit, Chief Administrative Officer
• Samantha Yew, City Clerk/Director of Legislative Services
• Hasan Raza, Chair, Mundialization Committee (volunteer)
• Anne Koopman, Chair, Apeldoorn Sub-committee (volunteer)

Councillor Galbraith – back row – third from the left.

The question the Gazette, along with a significant number of citizens, is – why is Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith in Apeldoorn and taking part of the events and who is paying for his expenses?

The City Communications department says the city isn’t picking up the tab.  We asked the Economic Development and Tourism people if they came up with the cash – no answer from them.

The City has an Expense manual that provides direction – Here are some excerpts:

Supports the Mayor and Councillors to:

• Administer their offices in City Hall.
• Represent the City at functions and events.

Supports Councillors to:

• Communicate with their constituents about the meetings and activities of city council and its committees

• Communicate with their constituents about the businesses and services of the

City and its agencies.

• Enhance and promote an engaged community in their wards.

Councillors and the Mayor are personally responsible for expenditures that do not fall within these criteria.  Link to the manual:

Principles
When using this guide the following principles should be observed:
Integrity of Council
• The integrity of Council as a whole and the office of Mayor and offices of Council must be protected.
• The interests of City Council as a whole take precedence over the personal interest of individual members of Council.

Accountability
• Councillors and the Mayor are the stewards of City resources and ultimately are accountable to the public and their constituents for the type and level of expense they incur.
• Councillors’ and Mayor’s expenses must be reasonable and reflect what the
public expects of an elected official.

The Councillors receive a decent income.