The Futility of Voting Against The Paysheets

Article © Stephen Vance, 2009

I understand as much as the next guy the benefit making a statement, and I am certainly not against acts of protest. I do get frustrated though, when members of council vote against the pay sheets when there is something on the list that they don't approve of.

The fact is that a pay-sheet is a list of items that you are obligated to pay because the service has already been provided and an invoice has been issued to the municipality, or goods have been purchased and either there is a credit card payment due, or an invoice to pay.

An invoice is a legal document that is evidence of a debt to a supplier. So if the work has been done, or the goods provided, and the service company or supplier has submitted an invoice for payment, how can you possibly vote against paying it? I would think that the municipality has enough legal troubles already without adding lawsuits by suppliers for failure to pay invoices.

The time to control expenditures is during budget time. You set a budget, and within that budget each department knows how much money they have to spend for the year, and then you ensure that controls are in place that hold the department heads accountable for staying on budget.

I think it is fair to question what a particular expense is, and perhaps even to ask the CAO or a department head for some details of an expense. It would be preferable if these questions were asked prior to a meeting of council so that there isn't an unnecessary buzz created about the expenses of the municipality. Either way, you simply cannot suggest that the municipality should refuse to pay the long list of items on the pay-sheets because one or two councillors don't believe that a given expense is justified.

It has become almost routine for the pay-sheet approval to be held hostage in order that one or more council members can grandstand about one expense or another and in the process fan the flames of an already raging local rumour mill.

Asking why the municipality is purchasing wine, or paying for a bed and breakfast is intended to ruffle feathers amongst people who already feel that governments waste money. Asking the question in the council chamber when staff might not have the stack of invoices at their finger tips only creates frustration for everyone.

The obvious result of such a question is that you will have people in the coffee shops whispering about how the town is throwing money around on wine and hotel rooms. With only part of the information, the rumour spreads, and there is yet another 'scandal' in town.

What might not get discussed is the fact that the wine was for an event at Meaford Hall, that was in turn billed to the Hall customer, or that the B&B in question was for a performer who was traveled to Meaford and as part of their performance contract, accommodations were to be provided. That money is then recovered through ticket sales, or the rental of the hall for the event.

Questioning legal fees is also a common target. We can't escape the fact that this municipality has found itself on the wrong end of a few lawsuits of late, and that costs money. Lawyers don't tend to work for free. All municipalities have legal fees. If you aren't being sued by someone who claims their car was damaged by a pothole, then you are engaging a solicitor to purchase or sell property. An individual councillor might think that legal fees are excessive, but the time to refuse payment is not in the council chamber.

I guarantee you that not one of the members of council who is named in the current lawsuit is going to protest the legal fees that will end up on the pay-sheets. That includes councillors who frequently suggest that a given legal bill is too costly.

What the members of council who routinely vote against the pay-sheets should be doing is fighting for proper controls within the purchasing policies of the municipality.

Get the controls in place, establish appropriate consequences for department heads who exceed budget without cause, and then get your hands off the daily management of the municipality.

That simply isn't the job of council. You hire a CAO to manage all of that, and the CAO hires and entrusts a senior management team to execute the policies of council, and to manage the affairs of the municipality.

I love a good protest, but suggesting that the pay-sheets should be voted down is not a protest, it is an attempt to convince council to violate contracts with suppliers and service providers. It also suggests that some members of our council do not respect the independent business owners who provide products and services to the municipality.

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