By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
In 2023, it cost a total of $296,350.63 in paid time and expenses for Cobourg councillors and appointees to attend town and county council meetings as well as serve on several key boards.
One piece of good news comes when you isolate expenses, however. Combined costs for travel, meals and refreshments, conference and conventions was $15,510 – significantly below the budgeted amount of $26,500.
The report from Director of Corporate Services Adam Giddings set out the list, as required annually under the Municipal Act, shared at the April meeting of council’s Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee.
Mayor Lucas Cleveland collected a council salary of $47,475.61 and expenses of $7,461.84, as well as $3,500 from the Town of Cobourg Holdings Inc. and $21,692.63 for county-council services (plus $7,520.44 in expenses).
Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty collected a council salary of $31,889.75 and expenses of $3,286.10.
Councillor Randy Barber collected a council salary of $26,544.90 and expenses of $30, as well as $535 (and $122.43 more in expenses) for sitting on the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority board.
Councillor Aaron Burchat collected a council salary of $26,730.40 (and nothing in expenses).
Councillor Adam Bureau collected the same council salary and also nothing in expenses.
Councillor Brian Darling collected a council salary of $26,606.73 (and nothing in expenses).
Councillor Miriam Mutton collected a council salary of $26,700.18 (and nothing in expenses), as well as $675 (and $117.11 in expenses) for sitting on the GRCA board.
In addition, board appointees were on the list.
On the Police Service Board – Sean Graham collected a salary of $7,547.10 and expenses of $2,135.53, Ronald Kerr collected a salary of $9,319.57 and expenses of $3,000.46, and Dean Pepper collected a salary of $7,660.73 and expenses of $1,280.49.
On the Committee of Adjustment – All salaries are $750 with one exception (Robert Marr, who collected $850 and no expenses). Otherwise, in addition to the $750, two members claimed no expenses (Terry Brown and David Dexter), while Peter Delanty claimed expenses of $1,676.71 and Brian Murphy claimed expenses of $899.24.
Councillor Miriam Mutton questioned if any gifts were being reported. Giddings said he had not been made aware of any.
Councillor Adam Bureau recalled how, in the last term of council, the sum of $350 was set as the threshold at which to report a gift. It had previously been $50, at that time a nice amount within which to take a councillor out to lunch or buy him or her a coffee.
Mutton said she had researched the amounts other cities consider a gift reportable, and learned that it varies.
Typically, Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan said, anyone receiving a gift should report it to Giddings at the time. He will collect that information and make it part of his annual report.
