Citing fiscal responsibility, the Mayor of Kamloops has a plan moving forward at Kamloops council this afternoon to stop providing free meals during council or committee days.

Reid Hamer-Jackson’s notice-of-motion would end the free lunches for himself, council, senior staff and directors.

“I, Mayor Hamer-Jackson, propose that the City of Kamloops put an end to paid meals for Council engagements effective immediately. This would include the MAYOR, Council, Directors, and Senior Staff in attendance to all council and committee meetings. This could alleviate funds to be spent in a more efficient manner that could better serve our community,” states the Mayor’s notice-of-motion going before council this Tuesday.

“This opportunity to allocate funds to a better cause could potentially help fund other initiatives. This proposal is worth discussing as it aligns with this Councils Strategic Plan in that it moves us closer to fiscal responsibility.”

Councillor Bill Sarai says he’s not sure whether he intends to support the Mayor’s initiative.

However, he does question if the plan will ultimately save money for tax payers, noting both open and closed council sessions are running hours longer than they were under the previous administration.

“We ate lunch at our council desks one day with a 15-minute break before open council. Then we rushed back and went into closed [council] and had our dinner before a public hearing sitting at our council chambers,” said Sarai. “Had we had ‘brown bag’ breaks for that, we would have probably kept staff there till midnight.”

It’s not clear how much each lunch provided to staff and council costs the taxpayers.