MLA expenses Government website to put public in the loop
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2011 (5369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Want to know how much your MLA is billing for mileage or for meals with constituents?
That information is starting to be available online. Sandra Holmberg, manager of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly’s Members’ Allowances Office, said the public should be able to view copies of individual MLA expense claim forms on the Assembly’s website by the end of April.
On Wednesday, the website began publishing monthly reports for various MLA allowances, including travel, constituency office expenses and staff, as well as living allowances.
This new era in MLA expenses transparency was sparked by a November 2009 report by Carol Bellringer, Manitoba’s auditor general. Her two-year study blew the whistle on sloppy expense claims and other questionable MLA practices, such as taking home taxpayer-bought computers or furniture that had been fully depreciated.
Last September, the province’s commissioner for allowances instituted a new set of rules for MLA expense reporting. Michael Werier also directed that expense claim forms and monthly and annual totals be posted online.
The expenses in question amount to about $3 million a year and do not include costs incurred by cabinet ministers on government business. Those expenses are posted on departmental websites. Holmberg said when individual claim forms are posted online at the end of next month, they will reveal such information as the date, location and amount of a meal billed to taxpayers by an MLA as part of his or her constituency allowance. If members of the public want to know who an MLA entertained, they will have to apply to the Members’ Allowances Offices at the Legislative Building to view the information.
To check out MLAs’ monthly spending totals, Google ‘Manitoba Legislative Assembly.’ Once on the website, click on ‘members’ in the left-hand column and then on ‘allowances and remuneration.’ Scroll to the bottom of the page.
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca