Victoria councillor Ben Isitt calls for end of catered lunches for council, senior staff

VICTORIA -- The topic of free lunches for city councillors in Victoria is up for discussion once again.

This time, Councillor Ben Isitt has proposed a motion calling for the annual $10,000 catered lunch budget to be redirected to the city’s housing reserve fund.

Last January, councillors Charlayne Thornton-Joe and Marianne Alto proposed a motion to end the catered lunches for councillors and senior staff, but were outvoted by colleagues, including Isitt.

When asked about the motion Wednesday, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said that now is not the time to be discussing financial matters before the 2021 budget has been set.

“It’s poor governance and poor process to bring budget motions before the budget is ready to go, so I‘m going to move on Thursday that that motion be postponed and be brought forward as part of the budget,” said Helps.

“We’re doing public consultation. The town hall is next Wednesday. Making budget decisions in advance of the budget is not a good idea, so we’ll do it properly,” she said.

CTV News contacted Isitt Wednesday, who declined to provide a comment.