Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer believes that city councillor Paolo Galati should reimburse his “superfluous” expenses to city taxpayers.
• Also read: Laval Elected Official Makes Taxpayers Pay for Costco and Apple Watch at Over $1,000
THE Newspaper revealed on Wednesday that the elected representative of the Action Laval party had successfully submitted reimbursement requests for a multitude of grocery products at Costco, a sofa bed and several Apple brand devices, to name just a few.
In an interview with LCN on Wednesday, the mayor of Laval deplored a “significant” lack of judgment.
“It doesn’t make sense,” says Stéphane Boyer, who would like to see Mr. Galati pay the amounts that should not have been paid by citizens.
Buying a computer for professional purposes is one thing, but why choose “the most expensive of all,” asks Mr. Boyer.
He also explains that a municipal councilor who requests reimbursement for a purchase must not use it for personal purposes. “A jar of butter peanut of a kilo, I am not sure that it is distributed to citizens during a meeting.”
Explaining that he has no right to review the spending of elected officials, Mayor Boyer recalls a principle that he considers very important in relation to the use of public money.
“There are things that can be reimbursed while respecting the law. But, it is not because it can be done according to the law that it should be done,” he says.
This is about maintaining public confidence, according to Stéphane Boyer, recalling that Laval has experienced its share of crises in recent years, including corruption and the Charbonneau Commission.
“I can’t believe that even today, an elected official doesn’t ask more questions than that before spending public money,” laments Mr. Boyer.
Refusing to place part of the blame on the city treasurer, he explained that every elected official must certify that his expenses comply with the law.
Some of Mr Galati’s spending is said to be in a “grey area”.
“It’s difficult for a city treasurer to dispute that a computer is not for work,” said Mayor Laval, believing that the opposition should start asking questions about its use of public funds.
- Watch the full interview in the video above
