At least 28 discrepancies between Athabasca County councillor timesheets and meeting minutes occurred from 2010-2013, the Advocate has discovered. The discrepancies involved five current councillors and three former ones.
At least 28 discrepancies between Athabasca County councillor timesheets and meeting minutes occurred from 2010-2013, the Advocate has discovered.
The discrepancies involved five current councillors and three former ones. In nearly all instances, the councillors were marked absent or not included amongst those listed as present in the minutes of a meeting for which they claimed pay on their timesheet (see table on page 5A for details).
County Reeve Doris Splane expressed surprise at the Advocate's findings but acknowledged the issue.
"Council has recognized that we have flaws in our system, and as such, we are working at making changes both individually and county wide at both the administrative level and at the council level," said Splane in an email statement.
"In the past, there have been some inconsistencies with record-keeping methods, and perhaps council should have been more diligent in checking attendance records, but we were focused on the content of the minutes to make sure motions etc. were correct," she added.
The investigation found 19 discrepancies between 2010 and 2013 relating to five current councillors: David Yurdiga, Kevin Haines, Larry Speers and Jack Dowhaluk, as well as Reeve Doris Splane.
Nine discrepancies were also found in the timesheets of three former councillors: Mike Demko, Allen Balay and Brian Bahry.
Before press time, The Advocate received possible explanations for 13 of the 28 discrepancies.
No discrepancies were found in the timesheets of current councillors Denis Willcott, Christine Bilsky, Warren Griffin or Larry Armfelt.
Regarding current councillors, the most discrepancies were found in Dowhaluk's timesheets, which had 10. Three discrepancies were found in the timesheets of both Splane and Haines, two in those of Yurdiga and one in those of Speers.
Athabasca County provided explanations for the discrepancies within councillor Dowhaluk's timesheets, which came to light in February after a ratepayer noticed some inconsistencies (see table on page 5A for details).
Dowhaluk has since paid back nearly $1,700. Although Yurdiga told the Advocate in a prior interview that Dowhaluk would be reimbursed that money, county communications officer Karl Kopan says that is not the case and that money will remain with the county.
Dowhaluk stated there needs to be more diligence when it comes to checking councillor timesheets, but defended rolling different types of meetings into one entry.
"Quite often, we meet with two or three people in a day," Dowhaluk said. "Instead of documenting every meeting, we just combine them into one meeting. For me, it's the only fair way to go. It's a lot of book work if you have to keep track of every meeting you were at during the day."
Splane had three discrepancies in her timesheets dating back to 2011.
"I will be checking into them with administration," said Splane.
Haines had one discrepancy in each of 2011, 2012 and 2013. In each case, Haines is marked absent in the minutes, but claims remuneration for the meeting. According to Haines, his notes indicate he was present at each of the above meetings.
Haines said he will be reviewing the discrepancies with administration and presenting to council.
"I don't wish to blame anyone unnecessarily," Haines said when asked for a possible explanation.
Yurdiga had two discrepancies within his timesheets.
He explained that often certain county tasks will be recorded as a type of meeting on the timesheet.
"A lot of times there are other functions that are attached to (the agricultural service board)," he said, for example.
The discrepancy found in Speers's timesheet occurred last year. The minutes have Speers marked absent, but he claims remuneration for it on his timesheet.
Speers couldn't find anything in his records to indicate he didn't attend the meeting and suggested he may have arrived late and was missed on the present list.
"I don't think I made any wrong claims," Speers said. "I don't think I got paid for anything I didn't do."
Five discrepancies were found in the timesheets of former councillor Demko. In each instance, Demko is either not on the list of councillors present or clearly marked absent, and in each case , he claimed remuneration for the meeting on his timesheet.
Three discrepancies were found in the timesheets of former councillor Bahry, all three dating back to 2010. Bahry provided explanations for his absences, but claimed errors sometimes occurred as his timesheets were submitted electronically, then were transcribed to handwriting by administration.
"For whatever reason, I don't know why, (administration) would have to transcribe it into handwriting," Bahry explained.
The final discrepancy was found in the timesheet of former councillor Balay.
Neither Demko nor Balay responded to the Advocate's request for comment.
The rate of remuneration for county committee meetings has gradually increased since 2010. In 2010, councillors were receiving $236.90 per full-day meeting; this went to $244 in 2011, $251 in 2012 and $256 in 2013.
Councillors also receive mileage for attending county committee meetings; as of 2013, this rate was $0.54 per kilometre.
The issue of timesheet discrepancies had been going on for quite some time, according to Bahry.
"I can see, in all honesty, how it's gotten worse," said Bahry.
Bahry claims that previous county chief administrative officer Jim Woodward was much more involved with analyzing councillors' timesheets.
However, when Gary Buchanan took over the position, the process was changed, said Bahry.
"We used to sit down once a month … we went through these timesheets … and we'd pick each other apart.
"When Gary took over, he insisted that was the reeve's job. The reeve could go through the timesheets, and we don't need to waste time in council."
The Advocate attempted to reach Buchanan prior to press time; however, he was unavailable.
Yurdiga confirmed that administration previously played a larger role in inspecting timesheets.
"Administration, what I recall, they would be more diligent on checking out the timesheets, too, because they do have access to the minutes and everything else we don't," Yurdiga said.
Yurdiga also explained that previously, much more diligence was applied to checking councillor timesheets at budget time.
"Before, during budget and finance, we would go through all the timesheets, and that was the responsibility of the chair for budget and finance, and that went to the wayside years ago," said Yurdiga.
This raises the issue of councillors confirming the claims of other councillors without being able to check the approved minutes for those meetings. According to Yurdiga, the minutes for some meetings take close to a month to be approved. Along with that, the timesheets do not follow a standard cycle from the beginning of the month to the end. The cycle runs from the 21st to the 20th of each month. According to Yurdiga, this was an administrative decision and does cause some confusion.
The issue also exists in the minute-taking itself, Yurdiga said.
"A lot of times it's administrative. Say you come in late to the meeting. If you come late, they mark you absent … I know a number of times that has been the case.
"Errors do happen; everyone is human," Yurdiga added.
According to councillor Warren Griffin, council has taken steps to eliminate the problem.
"Recently, we've made changes and are a lot more diligent over our timesheets in terms of how we keep our records and making sure we've got it straight.
"You can only do so much under the honour system. There's no one out there to cheat it," Griffin said.
Griffin acknowledged the inconsistencies in how the minutes at different meetings were kept could have led to some of the problems. But in the end, he said it's up the councillor to be as conscientious in their bookkeeping as possible.
"Administration has enough on their hands … at some point the councillors have to be responsible for themselves, and for us to pass the buck off to administration and use them as an excuse -no, at some point we have to be responsible for ourselves and our conduct," Griffin said.
It was a sentiment shared by councillor Larry Armfelt.
"I determine my behaviour, and I believe it's the responsibility of each individual to determine their own moral character. The buck stops here," he said.
According to Yurdiga, some municipalities have been switching to salary-based pay for their councillors. While this would eliminate the need for timesheets, Yurdiga said it would be expensive.
"It will cost the ratepayer a lot more money in the end, but then again, it's a lot easier to administer," he said.
Splane said council is working to make sure there are no discrepancies in the future.
"Please have patience with us and our staff as we work out our flaws and make Athabasca County the best municipality to live and work in," she said.
