MLA Ken Kowalski is dismissing suggestions there was anything improper about municipal councillors who attended an anniversary dinner in his honour.
Kowalski responded to the Gazette about the allegations that were raised by the Alberta Liberals about seven councillors and their spouses who attended the 30-year anniversary gathering in 2009.
He said the suggestion was already brought up once this year and there was nothing improper about it.
“That was reported in the legislature six months ago,” he said.
The Liberals re-released the documents on the heels of a story last week about councillors in the town of St. Paul who attended a function for their local MLA at municipal taxpayer expense.
Kowalski said the anniversary event was a welcome surprise for him and he didn’t plan it as a party fundraiser.
“I had nothing to do with it. I was overwhelmed by it,” he said.
He said the show of support to mark his 30 years in office was humbling, but it wasn’t a fundraiser because the event actually lost money. Once the cost of the meal, renting the hall and a host of other expenses were covered, there was nothing left over for the constituency association, he said.
Tickets for the event were $45 and Kowalski noted that is under the donation limit that requires public reporting of donors.
The documents the Liberals released show Barrhead County paid $720 for the seven councillors, plus one staff member and all of their spouses to attend the event.
Sturgeon County has a policy on political dinners like these, which prohibits money from county coffers going to political parties.
Rick Wojtkiw, general manager of corporate services, said the county would refund the cost of councillors attending political events, up to $25.
“We will pay up to $25 for the meal and if there is anything beyond that it is up to the councillor to pay,” he said. “Our rationale is that all we are paying for is the meal and that theoretically none of our funds are going into the party coffers.”
Wojtkiw said the county’s policy allows for councillors to network and get to know provincial representatives, without having municipal dollars go to provincial parties.
“It is tough to be heard if you are not at the table at all, so the county sees the benefit from being able to network,” he said.
Wojtkiw said the county did send a cheque for Kowalski’s golf tournament in 2010 to cover the entry fees of several councillors who participated, but he said they were all billed back for the game.
