Barrhead town councillors will now get a little bit of financial help when it comes to buying their wardrobe.
On Monday, April 12, councillors voted 4 to 2 to a change to policy 11-003, which will allow councillors to buy shirts or vests up to $100 annually and be reimbursed for their purchase. The apparel must have the town’s logo on it.
Coun. Roy Ulmer said he supported the policy change and would proudly wear a town jacket and made a motion to accept the policy.
The motion was carried with councillors Ryan Warehime and Leslie Penny voting against.
Martin Taylor, Barrhead’s chief administrative officer, said since 2004 the town has had a policy that allowed town employees to buy T-shirts, or vests, at the town’s expense, adding that the policy’s purpose was to increase visibility of the town’s employees.
“Especially for our employees in the recreation department who are out in public a lot,” he said, adding councillors were not included in the original policy.
Taylor said he realizes it can be a touchy subject, but said he decided to include it in an updated policy.
“Every municipality handles the issue in a different way, including the four municipalities I’ve worked for,” he said, adding the policies range from where the councillors have to pay for their own town clothing, to where it is included in the municipality’s public relations budget.
Mayor Gerry St. Pierre agreed, saying before administration brought this forward for council’s consideration they researched what a number of nearby communities do.
For instance, he said, in Whitecourt councillors are given $300 annually to buy apparel with the town’s logo. While in the County of Barrhead councillors have to pay for the clothing and are reimbursed for having the logo put on it.
“I like the idea because we are all here to promote and demonstrate pride in our community,” he said. “But what I don’t like about it is the comments we get about it regarding spending taxpayers’ money.”
St. Pierre said in his first year on council he decided to take his own polo type shirt and have the town’s logo put on it because he wanted to promote the community whenever he was invited to go to a public function.
“But almost every time I would wear it I would hear comments about how taxpayers bought my shirt, but they didn’t,” he said, adding he started to carry the receipt around to prove he had bought the shirt. “Unfortunately, that is something we will always hear. I know county councillors who proudly wear their shirts are constantly receiving snide remarks about wasting taxpayers money for their clothes.”
Penny said councillors should promote the community by wearing clothing with the town’s logo and she believes councillors should pay for it themselves.
Taylor said councillors have to ask themselves whether the expense is worth the public relations the town receives.
“In my opinion you are elected to represent the community and if you need a couple of jackets or golf shirts or coffee mugs, you should do that for marketing purposes,” he said, adding it isn’t a large budget item. “Every community I have worked for has had golf shirts, T-shirts, golf balls and baseball caps.”
