An outside investigation into the expenses of Joe Magliocca cost taxpayers $64,000 – and uncovered $6,000 in expenses the councillor shouldn’t have charged..“This is a lot of money, especially during a very challenging time. For many people in Calgary, this could be their annual salary,” said Franco Terrazzano, Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation..“We shouldn’t be doing these investigations frequently, but when you catch a councillor with their hands in the taxpayer cookie jar you need to hold them accountable and an investigation was needed..“This whole expense debacle has been a comedy of errors, but it hasn’t been funny for taxpayers.”.The final bill for the PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP report still isn’t in yet and the $64,000 figure could still increase..On Friday, Mayor Naheed Nenshi also released a “formal letter of reprimand” he sent to Magliocca last month..“The actions described in the Report show a pattern of behavior that continually disrespects the money and trust that have been placed in our care by the citizens of Calgary,” the letter reads..“This disregard has an impact on the trust that all citizens have in their City Council. For that reason, Council also directed that I request a public letter of apology from you..“To be frank, the citizens of Calgary deserve better than this. I hope you have learned from your actions and that you will respond in a way that shows an understanding of the seriousness of what you have done.”. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .Magliocca – known as Joey Mags in city hall circles – still hasn’t responded since the controversy broke..In February, council called for an external audit of his expenses dating back to 2017 following Postmedia reports about discrepancies in his receipts from the 2019 Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Quebec City.. Magliocca, who has been in office since 2013, expensed $6,400 travelling to and from the conference, at least $1,800 was attributed to “hosting” costs, paying for meals and drinks with other politicians and company representatives..Postmedia found 11 people that Magliocca claimed hosting expenses with who said they had never met him..The amount was more than double what nine other council members on the trip expensed..The city has forwarded the report to the city police for a look-see..Magliocca said the results were because of clerical errors and told council in February: “Calgary taxpayers expect better of me and so does this council.”.He initially paid back $2,100 in conference expenses and later paid back all “alcohol-related” costs since the last election. Magliocca has now repaid more than $6,000 from the past two years of his expenses. .Magliocca hasn’t announced whether he will seek reelection next October..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
An outside investigation into the expenses of Joe Magliocca cost taxpayers $64,000 – and uncovered $6,000 in expenses the councillor shouldn’t have charged..“This is a lot of money, especially during a very challenging time. For many people in Calgary, this could be their annual salary,” said Franco Terrazzano, Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation..“We shouldn’t be doing these investigations frequently, but when you catch a councillor with their hands in the taxpayer cookie jar you need to hold them accountable and an investigation was needed..“This whole expense debacle has been a comedy of errors, but it hasn’t been funny for taxpayers.”.The final bill for the PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP report still isn’t in yet and the $64,000 figure could still increase..On Friday, Mayor Naheed Nenshi also released a “formal letter of reprimand” he sent to Magliocca last month..“The actions described in the Report show a pattern of behavior that continually disrespects the money and trust that have been placed in our care by the citizens of Calgary,” the letter reads..“This disregard has an impact on the trust that all citizens have in their City Council. For that reason, Council also directed that I request a public letter of apology from you..“To be frank, the citizens of Calgary deserve better than this. I hope you have learned from your actions and that you will respond in a way that shows an understanding of the seriousness of what you have done.”. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .Magliocca – known as Joey Mags in city hall circles – still hasn’t responded since the controversy broke..In February, council called for an external audit of his expenses dating back to 2017 following Postmedia reports about discrepancies in his receipts from the 2019 Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Quebec City.. Magliocca, who has been in office since 2013, expensed $6,400 travelling to and from the conference, at least $1,800 was attributed to “hosting” costs, paying for meals and drinks with other politicians and company representatives..Postmedia found 11 people that Magliocca claimed hosting expenses with who said they had never met him..The amount was more than double what nine other council members on the trip expensed..The city has forwarded the report to the city police for a look-see..Magliocca said the results were because of clerical errors and told council in February: “Calgary taxpayers expect better of me and so does this council.”.He initially paid back $2,100 in conference expenses and later paid back all “alcohol-related” costs since the last election. Magliocca has now repaid more than $6,000 from the past two years of his expenses. .Magliocca hasn’t announced whether he will seek reelection next October..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
