Richmond Hill council rules Perrelli must pay $140K for his Enviro Day event

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 18, 2021

Richmond Hill Coun. Carmine Perrelli will be required to fully reimburse the city for his Enviro Day event, ensuring that no tax dollars will be used to cover the amount owing of some $140,000.

According to a staff report presented to council, Perrelli conducted his Enviro Day event over four days during the weekends of June 12 to 13 and 19 to 20. This event included the free distribution of recycling and compost bins and incurred a cost of $139,623.30, despite only collecting $55,709 in sponsorship funds.

Since the inception of council events, members of council have been required to fund their events through sponsorship, as a tax-supported budget does not exist, the report said.

On April 18, Perrelli posted on the Nextdoor app that: "No tax dollars will be spent for this event. I have raised the money from generous donations from the public."

Perrelli had intended to run more Enviro Day events; however, staff halted any further commitment of staff time and purchase of bins until the deficit of $83,914.35 is funded.

On May 5, council approved an exemption for Perrelli's event, but staff sought clarification at the Oct. 13 meeting, as it was staff's understanding that the exemption meant the event would continue under the Council Events Guidelines, which requires the councillor to acquire sponsorship to cover the costs.

Council carried a motion 6-2, ruling that Perrelli will be required to reimburse the city $139,623.30 for his event, which is not funded by tax-supported reserves.

Perrelli and Coun. Greg Beros voted against the motion, arguing that the event was in the best interest of the community and therefore should be paid for from tax dollars, just like any other damaged blue bin exchange.

Prior to the meeting, many residents wrote to council to voice their objections to the exemption.

"I am not prepared to fund 3-1/2 years of bin replacement for one event that Mr. Perrelli deemed necessary to gain access to additional email accounts with which to campaign through any time he chooses," Kathrine Mabley wrote.

"This is a blatant abuse of the city policies and resources. This might also be a code-of conduct issue that the council must address," Sigmund Lee wrote.