It was political grandstanding at its finest at Monday night’s council meeting.
And it was standing room only as residents anxiously awaited to hear how council would react to the controversial subject of paying for Councillor April Cullen’s and the mayor’s assistant’s MBAs.
Councillor Louise Parkes set the stage expressing her distaste with how more than $40,000 of taxpayer’s money was spent on MBA courses when it could have gone to better use.
What’s more she says the mayor approved the funding and contravened the education and training policy by taking matters into his own hands by signing off on their applications.
There is no denying that timing is everything in the life of a politician and the impending 2010 election sets the stage for a myriad of unjusts to come to light.
This particular misdeed garnered much support from residents and fellow councillors as Councillor Parkes led the tyranny against the mayor for about two-and-a-half hours Monday night.
So let’s analyze the issue with a clear head.
Did Mayor John Gray approve some expensive courses? Yes. Did he act out of turn? Perhaps. Is this information new? No. The courses began in 2008.
Where was council for the past two years when they approved the budget, which included the financial windfall for the two in quest of an MBA? Not sure.
Finally, is this an appropriate allocation of $40,000? No.
While some educational courses can be merited, the financing of formal long-term education such as MBA’s, BA’s and the like should not be paid for out of the public purse, especially for elected officials.
Unfortunately, Councillor Cullen is caught in the middle of a gift horse and poor judgement. By withdrawing her name from the upcoming election pool, she admits the funding she was gifted for her personal enhancement was running a fine line over indulgent. But she is not the only one at fault here.
Mayor Gray can use this lesson in future by making sure all funding requests run the most public route to avoid scrutiny.