Kings council won’t change policy to exclude community breakfast expenses

Kings County council won’t consider changes to the municipality’s business expense policy that would prevent the mayor and deputy mayor from claiming expenses relating to events like community breakfasts.

At the September committee of the whole session, Coun. Bob Best said he has been looking into the policy after receiving a lot of phone calls about it.

Best said he thinks the policy should be for all councillors, not just the mayor or deputy mayor, when it comes to claiming expenses relating to events such as community breakfasts.

“I think it should be all council if we’re going to do it right, or in my opinion, I’d like to see no expenses for community breakfasts or travel,” Best said.

The municipality’s business expense policy currently allows members of council to claim travel expenses relating to meetings with organizations, community groups, and non-profit organizations, so long as the council member has been invited and the councillor determines their attendance is necessary, and in the best interests of the municipality.

The policy also allows the mayor and deputy mayor to claim travel expenses for attendance at social functions as dignitaries representing the municipality.

Best said he planned to attend an upcoming breakfast in Coldbrook that he couldn’t get reimbursed for and said he’d like to see more consistency with the policy.

He said his opinion is that no council member should be able to claim expenses such as milage or meals when it comes to community breakfasts, because they are open to anyone and usually don’t involve invitations.

He made a motion to recommend council direct the chief administrative officer to propose amendments to the policy that wouldn’t allow council members to be reimbursed for travel expenses for community breakfasts and similar events.

Following a discussion, the motion was defeated with only three councillors voting in favour. They included Best, Doug Gates, and Riley Peckford.

Gates asked if there was a rough idea of the dollar figure involved. Mayor Dave Corkum said he attends community breakfasts, “and on average it would be less than $50 a month.”

He said there would also be some milage involved if attending breakfasts in communities such as Burlington, for example. That would probably amount to less than $50 a month, so the monthly total for the mayor would be less than $100.

Coun. Emily Lutz said that when she thinks about the expense policy, she considers whether being a member of council is a job or a position. When such things are debated online, people will say that they don’t get paid milage to attend their job or get reimbursed for breakfast.

She said that is a valid opinion, but she disagrees in the sense that she doesn’t feel that being a member of council is a job in the same way.

“I think in order to be able to do the council work well, you do need to be out in community, and you need to be doing things, and those costs do add up,” Lutz said.

She said that 100 per cent of the time, those expenses for breakfast or lunches are going to a local business or a community group that is raising money.

“I don’t ever feel that those expenses are exorbitant or going somewhere they shouldn’t be going,” Lutz said.

For these reasons, she said she was inclined to leave the policy as it is but was interested in hearing what other council members have to say.

Deputy Mayor Everett MacPherson said he agrees with Lutz’s comments.

“What is important is that we are all accountable as elected officials to our constituents, and that accountability is available online at any time. Anyone with a computer that knows how to use it can certainly go in and verify what their elected official is claiming (as) expenses,” he said.

For the mayor in particular, MacPherson said he thinks it’s a big part of the job to be present in communities throughout Kings County. It’s a big job that is time-consuming.

He said, if they want their mayor to be visible and engaging with the public, it’s only reasonable to expect the expenses incurred for that are covered. MacPherson said he would not be supporting the motion.

Coun. Christina Sappington said there has also been criticism when the mayor isn’t out engaging with the public. She said she sees it as “micro-grants” when the mayor is out in the community highlighting different organizations.

She said the mayor or deputy mayor isn’t just eating at these community breakfasts. They often arrive at the beginning and make social media posts inviting other community members to attend.

“It’s not just about paying for the breakfast, but the mayor and deputy mayor are there to hopefully bring attention to the event and highlighting these community organizations that are working very hard in their communities,” Sappington said.

She said the mayor and deputy mayor are also engaging with residents and discuss concerns that exist in those communities. She wouldn’t want to hinder that work.

“I think it’s very important work. Kings County is a very large area to cover, and I know it’s an all-encompassing job when it’s done correctly,” Sappington said.

Gates said that as elected officials, they are all conscientious of expenses and costs. He said his concern is that “it might cost more in time and energy to change the policy than what is actually being spent.”

Coun. Robbie Hiltz said he agrees that there’s a big return on investment from attending these social events that really can’t be measured financially. He said that with all respect, he sees the matter as “virtue signalling.”

“I think this has been a past practice, and I will not support this (motion) for those reasons,” Hiltz said.

According to the county’s website, municipalities are required under the Municipal Government Act to report travel, meals, and professional development expenses. Municipalities may choose to report other expenses. Alcohol can’t be expensed to the municipality.

For the fourth quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year, Corkum’s online expense claims show a total of $592 for meals.

This includes 36 various breakfasts, luncheons, and suppers across the municipality held as fundraisers for various community organizations and churches, and some meetings he attended as mayor during the three-month period leading up to March 31. The $592 doesn’t include associated mileage expense claims that are also available online.

Of the 36 meals, the highest single expense claimed was $35 with the lowest being $10.