Calgary councillors can no longer expense alcohol for city staff

City council has voted to prohibit council members from using tax dollars to buy alcohol for city staff.

The practice was banned years ago for city employees, but was still permitted for city council members.

• Expensing alcohol should not be banned, says city councillor

Council voted 10 to two Monday to prohibit expensing alcohol costs from business meetings that only involve city staff.Alcohol is still a permitted expense for meetings with non-city employees or at special staff appreciation events.

Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart says it's not an acceptable business expense.

How can we hold ourselves as elected officials to a different standard other than what we expect that of our city and administration?"

Two councillors, Jim Stevenson and Shane Keating, wanted to refer the issue to a committee.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who is a non-drinker, said he has claimed booze expenses five or six times since taking office but typically it's at a staff appreciation event.He saidhe has no problems with the new rule.

All it does is it applies the same standard that we apply to every other city employee to members of council," he said. "If you're out for drinks with your workmates and nobody else, well, you can't expense drinks to the taxpayer. Makes sense to me.