CBRM councillor to pay back travel money

A Cape Breton regional councillor promises to repay hundreds of dollars in stipendshe received while he was out of the province.

Coun. Frankie Morrison, who represents New Waterford,spent six weeks working as an electrician in Alberta.During that time,he collected a $140 mileage stipend every weekfrom the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Morrison said it was an oversight and he planned to pay it all back by the end of the week.

"To tell you the truth, it automatically goes into your account," he told CBC News Monday. "I didn't stop it and it's my fault that I continued it I got no problem returning it."

The CBRM's chief administrative officer, Jerry Ryan, said Morrison wasn't necessarily violating municipal policy, since the $140 weekly stipend is intended to reimburse councillors for whatever travel expenses they incur in the course of their municipal duties.

Councillors are not required to justify their expenses, which amount to about $7,300 a year, nor do they have to submitreceipts.

Ryan said the case of Coun. Vince Hall, another councillor whose expenses have been questioned, is more clear cut.

The CBRM paid $8,000 in tuition and hotel bills for Hall, who took two post-graduate-level correspondence courses at Dalhousie University in Halifax in the last two years.

Hall, the representative for Reserve Mines, said he was simply taking advantage of the CBRM's professional development fund.

Courses 'directly relevant' to role as councillor

"I emphasize that I've taken some public administration courses, which are directly relevant to my role as a municipal councillor, and I've already employed a lot of the strategies that I've learned over the last couple of years," he said.

Hall said the $8,000 bill covered his tuition and the cost of staying at a hotel in Halifax for three days to attend classes beforewriting each exam.

Ryan approved the tuition payments and said Hall acted within the bounds of municipal policy.

"Furthering your education and trying to be a better public servant, in my view, should be congratulated rather than criticized," Ryan said.

There arefive members of senior staff who are also taking post-graduate-level courses, ranging from recreation and public management to occupational healthand safety, Ryan said.