Office Budget/Expense Account

I was under the impression that this money was allocated so councilors could have a constituency office in their ward which would require rent, hydro, water, heat, etc. and a staff member although I don't know why constituents can't come to City Hall and councilors could use city clerical pool.

Councillor urges random office audits
Need to monitor spending: Holyday
By DON PEAT, SUN MEDIA

One city councillor isn't giving up his fight to make all his colleagues accountable for their taxpayer-funded office budgets.

"These people have their lifestyle paid for by taxpayers of the City of Toronto," Doug Holyday said. "It's got to be stopped."

Holyday will deliver a letter to the city's auditor general and integrity commission Monday calling for councillors to be subject to random audits of their office budgets.

"There has to be some corrective action taken," he said. "The rules are non-existent as long as you spend below the $53,100 limit.

"Heaven knows how much money has been misspent here."

4 SELECTED

In the letter, also on the way to Mayor David Miller and all councillors, Holyday said he will ask that each council member file a record of their expenses with the auditor general every three months.

Each quarter, Holyday wants four councillors selected at random for an audit, with the audit results made public.

The Etobicoke Centre councillor's statements come on the heels of an article in the Toronto Sun detailing office budget expenses for some councillors that included restaurant dinners and limo rides.

'CONSEQUENCES'

Miller refused to comment on specific councillors' expenses.

He said integrity commissioner David Mullan and auditor general Jeff Griffiths already have the ability to audit councillors' expenses.

"There are rules and if the rules aren't followed, there are consequences," Miller said during a media scrum yesterday.

The mayor said it's understandable that some councillors use more of their budgets than others because some have more active wards.

"It's there to support their activities as an elected official," Miller said. "The rules are very simple about what expenditures should be used for and they need to be followed."