At the July 19th, 2011 WL Council Meeting, the following Resolution was adopted:
Moved by Councillor Zacharias
Seconded by Councillor BourdonMoved by Councillor Zacharias
That pursuant to the report of the Executive Assistant dated July 12, 2011, Council approve travel for Mayor Kerry Cook to meet with Minister Pat Bell in Prince George on Monday, August 8, 2011
Since then - I have learned that CCBAC (Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition) paid Mayor Cook's travel expenses and City of Williams Lake taxpayers, on top, paid Ms. Cook an additional $120 for attendance at this meeting, as per Council Policy #193 which says:
“Council members shall receive $120.00 per day for attendance at conferences, conventions and meetings, including travel days, as authorized by Council Resolution"
Meanwhile - Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett, a former CCBAC Chair herself, attended this meeting and returned to her home in 100 Mile House in the same day and I'm informed that she did not charge to CCBAC travel expenses previously, when Ms. Barnett was the CCBAC Chair of the day
My Question - why is Kerry Cook, despite proclaiming herself as a fiscally responsible Mayor in the last civic election in the fall of 2008, trying to stick it to City of Williams Lake taxpayers?
For this CCBAC meeting in PG, why didn't she consider using videoconferencing (a free option I might add) or via telephone...? Especially considering that sawmill workers at both Tolko - Soda Creek and Lakeside were off work earlier this summer
Finally - Kerry Cook needs to come clean NOW and say how much, in total, this trip to PG for CCBAC business cost Williams Lake taxpayers, in total (CCBAC + City of WL) (note - CCBAC just received $3 million from Victoria - your tax dollars)
Update - A rough estimate puts Mayor Cook's CCBAC trip to Prince George consisting of $120 + CCBAC paying for mileage only (.52 cents per kilometre) (no word if Mayor Cook stayed overnight in PG as Donna Barnett returned to 100 Mile once the meeting concluded) totaling $375.84. A huge chunk of that money, almost the entire amount, could have been saved, if videoconferencing or teleconferencing was used instead
SBF
