RMWB is making an attempt to clear up and tighten the rules that relate to taxpayer funded travel expenses when political events are involved. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council held a vote to develop an expense policy for events which are political fundraisers. Under the new rules being implemented municipal officials will only be reimbursed for their travel expenses if these expenses were incurred due to municipal business during the same trip. The new rules also forbid paying travel expenses during any election that is municipal, provincial, or federal. According to Mayor Melissa Blake guidance is important. “It’s impossible to try and manage when you don’t have a policy giving direction. It gives you two legs to stand on versus none.”
The original RMWB council proposal on travel expenses was to allow these when the official could demonstrate learning or networking that was in some way in the best interests of the municipality or which advanced these interests. This proposal met with some resistance, and so did the idea that the easiest way to meet with government officials was at political fundraisers. Coun. Allan Vinni commented “If we are unable to get the ear of elected politicians without paying or attending their political fundraising events, then there’s something fundamentally wrong with democracy.” The amended policy is still a good idea according to Mayor Blake. “The amendments there are perfectly fine, it’ll be easy enough to manage. People are often critical, but when you have a policy that says, this is what we were supposed to do and this is how we did it, it becomes more difficult for people to be critical of it.”
