Some councillors feel city staff reporting on Integrity Commissioner cost is waste of time
Welland city council has voted 8-5 for its staff to find the total cost of its integrity commissioner to taxpayers from November of 2018 to November of 2022.
However, some councillors said it's a waste of time, including Councillor Speck who stated the cost was already revealed in the budget.
"What I am trying to do is with the backlog of items that we have referred back to staff, to cause them to do work, we do it often on this council. We kick it to staff, put it on their plate, and it becomes a make-work project," he says.
Councillor VanVliet brought forth the motion, pointing out council has done this in the past without any debate or objection.
Councillor Fokkens echoed Councillor Speck's sentiments. "And for information, in 2019, we spent $19,364, in 2020, we spent $25,314, and in 2021 we spent $20,356... for 2022 we don't have those numbers yet, but we can definitely highlight them."
Councillor VanVliet lifted up the budget document during the meeting, pointing out people will not search through it to find the cost, and that this motion is needed for accountability and transparency.
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