Green fees are still fair game and will be covered by the Town of Okotoks when councillors participate in charity golf tournaments.
Okotoks council turned down a proposal from Coun. Stephen Clark to prevent the Town from paying golf green fees for councillors or administration to participate in charity golf tournaments.
Mayor Bill Robertson said it’s appropriate for councillors to participate in golf tournaments benefitting local causes.
“They’re not necessarily going because they want to get as much free golf as possible, they’re going because they’re supporting the charitable actions of a group trying to raise money for a worthwhile cause in our community,” he said.
Last year council contributed $9,230 to 10 different charity golf tournaments, which were attended by various members of council and administration, and turned down four requests for a contribution. Green fees for anyone attending the events were included in the contributions.
Robertson said council looks at each request for funding and decides whether it merits financial support. The attendance of members of council at charity tournaments lends events a degree of credibility and can encourage more public participation, he said.
He said councillors shouldn’t have to pay for something they wouldn’t attend on their own. In his case, he said he is not a golfer and only attends to support the event.
Clark’s motion brought up last month would have allowed the Town to continue to donate services in kind for the use of Town facilities for charities at reduced rates.
Clark said he can understand the mayor attending tournaments as council’s official representative, but he doesn’t think taxpayer dollars should pay for councillors to spend a day on the links.
“I don’t think the game of golf belongs in the business of the Town,” he said.
Clark said councillors should be able to pay for their own green fees if they want to participate in golf tournaments because one-third of their salary is tax free to help pay for expenses.
He said participating in a charity golf tournament is different than other activities, such as attending charity dinners. Clark said the federal government treats golf differently and green fees cannot be deducted from taxes, even if they are a legitimate business expense.
“From a federal point of view, they’ve said taxpayers shall not pay for golf in any way shape or form,” he said.
Clark also said council should not be making donations to, or participating in, political fundraisers.
A number of community groups spokes out against the proposal. Council received four letters at its April 25 meeting urging it not to approve the motion.
Okotoks Rotary Club president Bill McAlpine said council’s support is important for local charities and service groups that host fundraising events like golf tournaments.
“As far as I’m concerned the little bit of money that is spent by the Town to support these things comes back in spades,” he said.
McAlpine said work can still be done during golf tournaments. In fact, he said he was able to recruit Ted Menzies’ support for getting funding for the 32 Street bridge during a golf tournament.
“I was complaining that it was so slow to get an answer and there were other stimulus programs going through and ours wasn’t going through. So, he got on the phone and he straightened it all out that day,” he said.
