Kerfuffle Over Kilometrage

TTC Chair Adam Giambrone on a bus on a file Toronto Star photo (source)

Over the past week, the media has been on a feeding frenzy over the release of Councillors’ Office expense reports for 2009. The stories have ranged from the utterly ridiculous (mascots for a childrens’ party? The scandal!) to what seems to be a mainstream media vendetta against Adam Giambrone. The latest Giambrone mess was first sparked (accompanied by a hilarious Toronto Sun photo illustration) by what some consider an excessive taxi expense bill, followed by allegations of misuse of these expense privileges, and finally coming to more calls for his resignation. As much as I agree that some of Adam’s use of taxis is questionable, I find the story that sparked this chain of events, the $3,000 taxi bill, to be an unfair attack, especially on those who have chosen to live a car-free lifestyle.

I gotta ask: where is the media outrage toward other members of Council who appear to expense far greater amounts on transportation, and notably, “kilometrage” for use of their personal vehicles? A quick glimpse would show a handful of councillors  who spend greater amounts on transportation in 2009 than Giambrone. These include:

• Michael Thompson (Ward 37 - Scarborough Centre): $9,623.07
• Norman Kelly (Ward 40 - Scarborough-Agincourt): $7,576.20
• Raymond Cho (Ward 42 - Scarborough-Rouge River): $6,013.41
• Chin Lee (Ward 41 - Scarborough-Rouge River): $3,805.30
• Brian Ashton (Ward 36 - Scarborough Southwest): $3,527.45
• Howard Moscoe (Ward 15 - Eglinton-Lawrence): $3,443.75
• Suzan Hall (Ward 1 - Etobicoke North): $3,290.46

First of all, what is up with you Scarborough Councillors? There are ten of you on City Council, and half of you are on this list of heavy transportation spenders. I understand that TTC service to Scarborough is pretty insufficient, but the disparity is not that great, is it?

Second of all, it’s difficult to do a fair analysis of the mileage logs against taxi chits. Whereas on the taxi chits, the start and end points of the trip are clearly indicated, the auto mileage logs are all heavily redacted.

One of Michael Thompson’s ‘kilometrage’ logs, heavily redacted

Finally, why does the City’s expense system reward Councillors who drive with their personal vehicles with a fairly generous rate of 52¢ per kilometre, regardless of distance traveled. The Canada Revenue Agency, on the other hand, gives 52¢/km for the first 5,000 kilometres traveled, then only 46¢/km thereafter. On top of the mileage, the City reimburses for all parking expenses.

On the other hand, the Metropass provided for Councillors to use amounts to a relatively meagre $1,320 benefit annually (based on the MDP rate) for unlimited mileage. There is no allowance at all for Councillors who bike or walk to work. And finally, the reimbursement for taxi use is based on the taxi rate. 

In a City that is trying to put public transit, active transportation, and shared rides (which technically includes taxis, by the way), over single-occupant vehicles, Councillors have no incentive to choose more sustainable transportation modes to conduct their business. With a fuel-efficient vehicle, it is plausible that a Councillor could actually be profiting off the per kilometre reimbursement rate (though if someone would like to take a stab doing the calculations to prove or disprove this point, it would be great). 

So how can we fix this car-oriented mess? Well first off, the City needs to have a more consistent policy regarding transportation expenses. When looking at the expenses of all the Councillors, some expensed nothing, while it was clear others expensed everything. This makes it difficult for any level of transparency.

And what about encouraging behaviour change? Perhaps transportation budgets should have a set maximum, and Councillors should make their transportation choices based on that? How about not reimbursing parking fees, as most areas with parking charging are typically located in areas with high transit accessibility? And of course, reducing the mileage rate for car use.

And finally, to the media, how about some balance in coverage? Think about how much Giambrone would have spent if he did not make the transportation choices he did. It’s well known Adam takes the TTC every day, we see him on the system more often than any other chair in Toronto’s history. We know he does not own a car. He is demonstrating the transportation choices that are necessary for a more sustainable and livable City, and we get on his case about taxi expenses that are likely 99.9% legitimate. This is not fair, not productive, and does not contribute to the real discussions we should be having in advance of the municipal election.