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Jeff Colvin tells Postmedia his Chestermere-issued credit card was only used for “city business matters.”
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Fired Chestermere mayor Jeff Colvin spent more than $8,500 on food and booze on the public dime over the course of just four months earlier this year, according to documents filed in court this week.
The former mayor — dismissed by the Alberta government alongside three city councillors and three top administrators earlier this month — racked up $8,651.83 in charges on his city-issued credit card while dining out 84 times from March to June this year, states a September report by a province-appointed supervisor on “financial irregularities” at the City of Chestermere.
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“The meals charged to the mayor’s credit card include alcohol purchases. In at least one case, the receipt provided shows only beverage purchases,” reads the report, penned by official administrator Doug Lagore.
The financial report is included among almost 300 pages of documents attached to an affidavit that Colvin filed in court Thursday in support of an application launched by himself and the three other councillors removed from office for an injunction that would pause Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver’s dismissal order.
Lagore’s report states there is no explicit prohibition in the city’s policy on expensing alcohol purchases, but he said it was an “inappropriate use of public funds.” He also said some of the mayor’s credit card purchases included multiple charges for alcohol made during the business day.
“This too raises concerns. The information provided to me does not identify who attended these lunches. If they are staff members, this may raise concerns about their consumption of alcohol during working hours and any policies the city may have in that respect.”
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The report was initially included in court filings from the province in a previous legal matter the city launched against the Alberta government, part of which is attached to the mayor’s affidavit filed this week.
Credit card spending mischaracterized, former Chestermere mayor says
In his sworn statement, Colvin stated the province’s allegations of financial irregularities “equates to virtually nothing.“ He later pointed to the credit card use as an example of the “mischaracterization of evidence” and lack of “procedural fairness” by the minister in his dismissal.
“I did not abuse my credit card. I have two identical credit cards, one is the city’s, one is mine personally. On one occasion, I mixed up the cards and bought auto parts. I immediately fixed the error, notified staff and paid the invoice amount to the city,” Colvin stated, claiming he notified the minister’s office of the mix-up multiple times, but it continued to accuse him of misusing his city-issued credit card.
Colvin does not mention the meal charges in his affidavit. Lagore’s report does reflect a purchase for just under $100 in auto parts on Colvin’s city credit card, as well as $140 in land title searches.
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In a text message to Postmedia on Saturday afternoon, Colvin said his city credit card was only used for “city business matters.” He said during working lunches and dinners involving staff and council, it was easier to use one card — his — to pay, and some of the costs were related to municipal conferences where accommodations were also expensed as per the city’s policy.
“Plus when having business meetings, I can’t let developers or business people pay so there is no perception of giving the mayor, (chief administrative officers) and councillors gifts,” Colvin said.
He pinned some of the excessive costs on the municipal inspection — the province-ordered governance investigation that ultimately led to the dismissals — noting, “Many additional meetings were needed due to the significant additional workload and meetings because of the improper inspection and McIver issues. Which we fully expect to go after the province for all the additional workload, staff time and city expense Minister McIver has caused.”
Among a handful of examples highlighted in Lagore’s report is a bill of $228.79 paid at 3:24 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, for seven beers, two soft drinks and several appetizers, with an unidentified number of people present. The next evening, another outing of three people had a tab of $171.61 for six beers and three meals.
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Chestermere policy allowed $75 daily for meal expenses under certain conditions
The city’s elected officials’ remuneration and expenses policy only allows $75 daily for meal expenses and only in cases where a meeting, training session or conference doesn’t provide meals.
“In my review of the mayor’s meal expenses, it is unclear what city business is being conducted. It is not identified who is in attendance at these meals. Frequently, the receipt will identify that there are three individuals dining. From others it appears there may be four individuals dining.”
The province ordered in March that Chestermere turn over financial information to Lagore monthly. Lagore’s report states the city stopped providing receipts related to Colvin’s credit card in March and it stopped offering statements on any city-issued credit cards in August. Expenses in the preceding and following months remain undisclosed.
The city’s three then-chief administrative officers noted in a Nov. 2 letter to the minister, also included in this week’s court filing, that they approved every expense, that council members and senior management are allowed to expense alcohol, that “all city employees and council” are provided credit cards for expense purposes, and that “no expense exceeded the maximum amount.”
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“It is unfortunate (that) the minister is trying to imply there is financial mismanagement on behalf of the city when distributing credit cards to administration and council. To suggest council is breaking their spending allowances by expensing small lunches and dinners, as well as not allowing for small clerical issues by administration is disheartening,” wrote CAOs Travis Filler, Kim Wallace and Cam Wong in the document, a response to McIver’s Oct. 18 letter setting out his plan to dismiss council. “This is viewed as grasping at straws to justify unnecessary interference by the official administrator and Municipal Affairs.”
Lagore’s report states that the city’s policy doesn’t outline any protocols around giving elected officials city credit cards — expenses are meant to be claimed and reimbursed after review, per the policy — and that no other council member had one. The three councillors not dismissed by McIver — Shannon Dean, Sandy Johal-Watt and Ritesh Narayan — each told Postmedia they were never issued a city credit card.
Lagore’s report noted expenses for the whole of council don’t appear to have been published on the city’s website since the 2021 election, and he wasn’t provided any expense disclosures for any other councillors.
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“The general purpose of policies regarding disclosure of elected officials expenses is for public transparency on how elected officials use public funds,” Lagore wrote. “The failure of the city to follow this policy raises concerns that it is aware these expenses are improper or improvident and choosing not to disclose them to avoid public scrutiny.”
Lagore has continued to work with the city in the wake of the dismissals, now appointed to serve as the whole of city council until a byelection takes place to fill the vacant seats in the first half of 2024. Of the remaining councillors, Johal-Watt has resigned; Dean and Narayan won’t hold any role in the city’s governance until the byelection.
A forensic audit of the city is planned to begin soon, with its findings to be publicly released before the byelection. The mayor said he and the three dismissed councillors plan to run in that byelection if their injunction application and other legal challenges are unsuccessful.
mrodriguez@postmedia.com
X: @MichaelRdrguez
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