By Laurie Watt 

Barrie Mayor Dave Aspden made $101,532 in honoraria and expenses last year, but that doesn’t include the $38,470 in legal fees the city covered.

In total, taxpayers paid $140,002 to Aspden last year; the real value, however, is higher, as one-third of his $84,786 honorarium is tax-free.

Aspden claimed $10,745 in routine expenses, those associated with a variety of conferences and dinners. The largest expense was incurred Jan. 14 to 17, 2007, at an emergency preparedness conference in Ottawa. Second to that was the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, also in Ottawa, at which he submitted $1,460 in expenses.

Throughout 2007, he rang up $4,222 in computer and cellphone charges.

But because he wrote a reference letter for a police officer found guilty of discreditable conduct on city letterhead, he faced an Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services investigation; he also has been facing an OPP investigation into a China trip he took with a developer last April. His legal expenses, up to 100 hours as capped by an Indemnification Agreement, were $38,470.

Aspden said he was surprised his technology-related costs were so high. “Everybody knows I’m not a doctor of computer science. I don’t have a Blackberry. It shocked me,” he said. Aspden does have two cellphones, both paid for by taxpayers.

“Every councillor is reportable to their constituents. I can report on mine any day,” he said.

By comparison, former Mayor Rob Hamilton submitted $2,410 in city-paid expenses in 2006, $3,189 in 2005 and $1,585 in 2004, according to the city’s annual expenses reports.

A councillor earns a basic honorarium of $28,645.55 (again, one third is tax-free), but can claim car allowance and a maximum of $3,000 in city-paid expenses; outside of this limit, however, are cellphone and computer expenses.

For work on public agencies outside the city, they can also charge expenses associated with those duties, but they do not accept an honorarium; this is a change from past practice, when councillors could earn more for serving on Barrie Hydro’s board, the police services board and conservation authority boards.

Ward 10 Coun. Alex Nuttall was the top earner, with a total of $39,716. He charged up $2,100 in car allowance, $8,534 in city-paid expenses and $436.50 in Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority expenses. Among his city-paid expenses were $949 for a website and $5,611 for computer, cellphone and cable charges.

Nuttall acknowledged he spent a lot of city cash last year, but he sent out six newsletters, including several to specific areas of the ward that have experienced development problems. He added he dropped his Blackberry – which had to be replaced, and then the replacement unit also died. He also was issued a new laptop, for which he was billed.

“I’ve been informative and in touch with my ward,” he said.

Second to Nuttall was Ward 8’s Jerry Moore, who earned and billed in expenses a total of $37,638. That included $2,100 in car allowance,  $571 for a meeting on city centre revitalization in Ottawa and $3,907 in cellphone and cable charges.

Ward 4’s Barry Ward was third, with $36,981 in honoraria and expenses. His expenses included $1,849 in expenses related to Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority duties, $2,100 in car expenses, with city-paid expenses consisting of conferences and meetings.

Other councillors’ totals and expenses, excluding the $2,100 car allowance, is listed in brackets as follows:
Ward 1 Mike Ramsay: $35,612 ($4,867)
Ward 2 Jeff Lehman: $34,261 ($3,515)
Ward 3 Rod Jackson: $33,171 ($2,426)
Ward 5 Lynn Strachan: $35,001 ($4,256)
Ward 6 Michael Prowse: $35,060 ($4,315)
Ward 7 John Brassard: $34,747 ($4,001)
Ward 9 Andrew Prince: $36,044 ($5,299)