How much to pay politicians is always a contentious issue.

Their habit of voting themselves the raises suggested by an ‘independent’ committee, which the politicians themselves usually strike, only fuels the controversy.

As 2007 drew to an end, Mayor Dave Aspden raised the matter of how much councillors are paid.

He suggested his pay of $86,000 a year, one third of which is tax-free, is sufficient but wondered if the same could be said for council pay, which comes in at $28,623 before additions for committee work.

For a part-time job, $30,000, more or less, is a pretty good chunk of change. There are many people in this community getting paid less for full-time work.

It has long been suggested, however, that the work of council is more than part-time; that the job is demanding, the hours are long and compensation should reflect the commitment.

Leaving aside that argument for the time being, there’s one part of any pending review that should be a no-brainer: the structure of council expenses makes no sense at all.

Councillors get a maximum of $3,000 a year in expenses, while the mayor has a $6,000 expense account. It’s a woefully inadequate sum to cover legitimate expense, such as attending important sessions like the emergency preparedness conference in Ottawa last January.

It cost ward 7 councillor John Brassard, a professional firefighter, $2,100 to attend that conference. The bill chewed up most of his allotted expenses before the first month of the year was out, and cut into his ability to attend other conferences or produce and distribute a newsletter.

Brassard, along with fellow councillor Jerry Moore who also attended the January conference, later recouped a third of the $1,675 registration fee, through council direction, but it still left them with a pitiful sum to cover legitimate expenses.

The solution is as easy as it is obvious: make council expenses for conferences, meetings, etc., a budget item, and leave expense accounts for business-related out-of-pocket expenses.

Conferences of the type that attract municipal politicians and staff are usually planned well in advance, so there’s no reason why council can’t decide who is going to what, and budget for that expense.

A contingency fund could cover unexpected costs, such as attending meetings hastily organized to deal with fast-developing situations.

Everyone says government needs more business savvy in its operations. Determining who will attend what conference, and building those costs into the budget, is a step in this direction.

Label this one a ‘whoops.’ In a previous column I mentioned drivers on the new stretch of Simcoe Street would have to take a right at Bayfield, and then a left to connect to Mulcaster Street. In fact, the new stretch of Simcoe goes through Bayfield, no turns required. Apologies all around.