2 councillors who expensed NHL tickets will pay money back

The dayCBCrevealed four Ottawa citycouncillorschargedmore than $1,700 to their office expense accounts for tickets to last month'sNHL100 Classic at TD Place,two of thecouncillorsin question said they'll pay back the money.

• Councillorsbilled taxpayers for tickets to outdoorNHLgame

"I believe thatit may have been an inappropriate use of my office budget to purchase these tickets,"KanataSouthCoun. AllanHubley, who is chair of the city's audit committee, wrote in an email toCBCTuesday afternoon.

"To err on the side of caution, I will be reimbursing the city and taxpayersat which time the purchase will be removed frommy public disclosure for August of 2017."

Hubleyalso wrote that when he expensed the pair of tickets in August, he did not know who he would be taking to the game. He said that's why he didn't disclose the name of his guest, as per city rules. In the end,Hubleysaid he couldn't go to the game and gave the tickets to staff members.

Tierneyblames 'unclear' process

BeaconHill-CyrvilleCoun. TimTierneyemailedCBClate Tuesday afternoon to say that he had repaid the entire $409 cost of the tickets.

Tierneysaid that the integrity commissioner had given approval forcouncillorsto take advantage of an offer to buy full-price tickets, but was "unclear" about whether they could be expensed.

In an email sent tocouncillorsin November 2016 on behalf of integrity commissioner RobertMarleauandcity clerk Rick O'Connor, elected officials were told they could purchasetickets for Ottawa 2017 eventsand told to "account for the purchase on the regular public disclosure of office expenses."

The email did not specifically refer to NHLwinter classic, although that event was considered part of the city's 2017 celebrations.

That message, saidTierney, led him to believe that they tickets could be purchased using his office budget.

"In hindsight, I should have listened to my own voice and trusted my own gut instead of a process provided (that was unclear)," wroteTierney.

Mayor disagreeswith purchases

Gloucester-South NepeanCoun. Michael Qaqishalso used his office expense accountto purchase a pair of tickets worth $409. He has not respondedto multiple requests for comment since Monday morning.

InnesCoun. Jody Miticbought twotickets for $553 with taxpayer money. Mitic, who responded promptly to questions Monday,said he purchased his tickets in his role as sports commissioner. LikeHubley, he was unable toattend the game, and gave the tickets to his staff.

Asked earlier this week whether he thought the use of public funds for a professional sporting event was appropriate, Mayor Jim Watson said in an emailed statement that "each Councillor is responsible for his or her own expenses."

Asked again Wednesday for his personal opinion, Watson saidhe didn't agree with using taxpayer money to buyNHLtickets.

"No, I wouldn't have expensed those tickets," Watson told reporters after Wednesday'scouncil meeting. "Now, it's easy for me to say because I was given two tickets. There are community-type events that require a ticket and that's reasonable [to charge to office budgets], but I would not have charged those tickets to my office account."

Watson was given two tickets to the game by the Ottawa Senators, but couldn't attend because he had an emergency appendectomy. Instead, he gave the tickets to his sisterJayne Watson.

Councillorsgiven latitude

Citycouncillorsare each paid more than $100,000 and have annual office budgets of about $250,000.

With some exceptions, they can spend their budgets on a wide array of goods and services, including tickets to events. It is unusual, however, forcouncillorsto purchase tickets for professional sports events with public money.

The public expects public funds to be used solely for fulfilment of their publicduties.- Council Expense Policy

Councillorsmustadhere to the council expense policy, which provides guidelines for how elected officials should spend public funds.

While some rules are clear "alcohol is not a permitted expense," for example others guidelines are more subjective. For instance, the expense policy states that"the public expects public funds to be used solely for fulfilment of their publicduties" and that "members and their staff cannot claim expenses of a personal nature."

There appears to be no official protocol for residents to register complaints about their councillors' spending.

Instead, the code states that councillors"are ultimately accountable to their constituents for the type and level of expense they incur," whichsuggests that the appropriateness of expenditures are to be decided in thepublicarena.