Brampton Mayor under fire after expenses revealed

Above: Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell is feeling the heat after a report disclosing her expenses included many high priced personal items. Alan Carter reports

TORONTO – The highest paid mayor in Canada is under fire after a report disclosing her expenses over the past three years includes multiple high-priced personal items.

Susan Fennell, mayor of Brampton, expensed taxpayers over $187,000, far more than that of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion.

The details of Mayor Fennell’s expenses came to light after a freedom of information request by the Brampton Guardian, and it comes just as Brampton citizens face a possible 6.5 per-cent tax hike, as well as various cuts including reduced transit services.

Fennell’s expenses include personalized barbecue aprons ($2,162), Mandarin language lessons ($1,326) and ten tickets to an orchestra performance ($1,500).

The Brampton Mayor is remaining defiant and saying she has broken no rules, adding that council had approved all of her expenses, calling it “money well spent.”

Regional Councillor John Sanderson is disputing Fennell’s claim of approved expenses, calling the situation “an embarrassment.”