December is typically the biggest shopping month of the year for most Nova Scotians. Turns out, the same is true for our MLAs.
Metro Halifax’s review of a complete inventory of assets bought by members of all three parties between July 2006 and June 2009 revealed that politicians expensed a total of $270,898 (312 claims) during the three Decembers that fell within that time frame. Novembers came a distant second, with a total of $96,417 (138 claims) in expenses charged to the provincial coffers.
In the new year, expenses fell way off, with Januarys coming in at $35,283.90 and February at $35,299.58.
Overall, May seems to have been the most frugal time of the year in the provincial legislature. Only $19,229 (41 claims) in taxpayer’s money was spent during that month.
Overall, the average per month works out to about $64,000.
Items without an invoice were excluded.
