Constituency Services and Office Budget

This is a discretionary budget allocated to each Councillor to pay for expenses that are allowable under the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy.

This budget is adjusted annually by the Statistics Canada cost of living index for Toronto, as calculated by the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and based on the previous year’s average (City Council, 2012).

Councillors must not exceed their annual Constituency Services and Office Budget limit, whether using City funds or personal funds.

Councillors can choose to use City funds, personal funds or a combination of the two as long as the total amount of expenditure remains within the limit. Councillors who pay for office expenses with personal funds are subject to the same accountability mechanisms and must file all receipts with the Deputy City Clerk, Member Services & Program Support, with the exception of kilometrage, parking, wireless expenses and business meals. Any Councillor who exceeds the limit using City funds must repay the City using personal funds for expenses related to kilometrage, parking, wireless devices and business meals.

The City Clerk will report to the Integrity Commissioner the names of those Councillors who exceed the Constituency Services and Office Budget limit.

The Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy sets out the roles and responsibilities concerning Councillor expenses. It includes a description of the types of budgets, guiding legislation and principles, as well as:

  • Process for purchasing goods and services
  • Accounting and audit principles to follow when claiming expenses
  • Process for Councillor reimbursement
  • Limitations on using personal funds, furniture and equipment
  • Councillor expenses during an election year
  • Process for reviewing Councillor expenses
  • Rules for disclosure of expenses.

Allowable expenses

Section 5 of the Constituency Services and Office Budget Policy outlines the categories and types of allowable expenses payable from the Councillor’s Constituency Services and Office Budget.

Election year

In an election year, the budget is pro-rated based on the number of months or partial months in each term. Subsequent to election day, re-elected Councillors have available to them the balance of funds remaining as of election day, with an exception: in years when there are changes to ward boundaries, the pro-rated amounts for both terms apply to all Councillors. (Updated June 2018)