What a circus the municipal auditor issue has become. Time to fold up the tents and close this show. Responding to concerns about rising municipal taxes, Christy Clark floated the concept of an auditor general for local government when she was seeking the leadership of the sa国际传媒 Liberals. As premier, she oversaw the formation of the office and the appointment of Basia Ruta to that position in November 2012.
Ruta began working in January 2013, promising 18 audits in her first year. After two years, her office had spent $5.2 million and issued just one report. Two more reports were released Thursday.
The apparent lack of productivity, along with reports of confusion and frustration among staff, prompted questions and controversy in the legislature.
The controversy continues. An audit has been ordered of the auditor鈥檚 office. The auditor is fighting back, questioning the authority of the audit council that oversees her office, saying the review ordered by the council is 鈥渦nlawful.鈥� She also questioned the independence of Chris Trumpy, the former provincial deputy minister appointed to conduct the review. By implying political motives on the part of a widely respected civil servant, she herself has politicized the process.
Her promise of 18 audits in the first year was rash, likely motivated by enthusiasm for her new job, and it would have been hard to fault her for missing that target. But with only one report in two years, the gap between what was promised and what was delivered was too large to ignore, as were reports of problems with staff morale.
Ruta says she welcomes a review, but said she and the council couldn鈥檛 reach an agreement on who should do the audit. Since when does an auditee working for the public get to chose the auditor?
Therein lies part of the problem. NDP critic Selina Robinson is on the right track in saying the situation suggests the legislation creating the office was poorly written. Responsibilities and lines of authority should have been clearly delineated from the outset.
Yes, Ruta is supposed to be independent, but she still has to be accountable to someone, just as the provincial auditor general is accountable to the legislature.
Is the office even necessary? Municipal finances should certainly be scrutinized, but that could be done by the provincial auditor general, an established and respected office, with extra staff hired to focus on municipalities.
That鈥檚 probably the wisest route now. The municipal audit process has been irrevocably tainted. Any reports now issued by the municipal auditor general will be seen by jaundiced eyes.
An experiment is a failure only if nothing is learned from it. Figure out what lessons are to be gleaned from this train wreck and move on.
