B.C. to shut down the auditor general for local government
Credit to Author: Rob Shaw| Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2020 00:35:25 +0000
VICTORIA — B.C. is shutting down the auditor general for local government, ending the tenure of a municipal watchdog that has long been opposed by municipalities.
Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson told Postmedia News on Monday that she is cutting the office’s funding and plans to close it entirely within “a couple of years.”
Last week’s provincial budget slashed the local auditor’s budget by 31 per cent.
“I don’t think it’s delivering what it can, in the way that it really can,” said Robinson.
“And so, with that in mind, there’s a better way to do that. And I want to work with the UBCM (Union of B.C. Municipalities), not against the UBCM on this. And so this is about phasing it out.”
Robinson said she did not shutter the office entirely this year because it has some projects to complete. Instead, funding was cut to $1.8 million from $2.6 million.
Local Auditor General Gordon Ruth said he’s begun reforming his office to finish its files and shut down within the next year and a half.
“I was surprised,” Ruth said Monday. “It wasn’t something I had expected at this time.”
The local auditor’s office was created in 2013 by the Liberal government as a measure to find cost-savings and efficiencies in how cities, towns and districts operate. However, municipalities opposed the office, saying it was imposed upon them without consultation and insinuated that local governments were poor fiscal managers.
The NDP promised to scrap the office in the 2017 election, but chose to keep it open in 2019 after conducting an independent review that concluded 71 per cent of local governments that had been audited felt the benefited from a medium to high degree from the audit.
At the time, Robinson said in a news release: “The review shows that the office provides local governments with useful recommendations that are being implemented in communities around our province.”
On Monday, Robinson said that may have been true last year, but she’s continued to hear from municipalities that oppose the office. She also said she considered that Ruth’s five-year term ends Oct. 1.
“It just opened it up to me for a rethink about given that there is some value here, given that we’re getting a change in auditor general for local government, given that there are communities that still are not happy with it, how can we take the valuable lessons that we’ve learned here and create something that will deliver even better,” said Robinson.
Ruth said he’s not sure what will happen after his term expires Oct. 1, and whether he will leave the position as the office is winding down or a temporary local auditor will be appointed for the office’s final months. Those details are being negotiated, he said.
The local auditor’s office had a troubled start in 2013, when it was beset by inefficiency, low morale and leaked human resources reports under its first auditor general, Basia Ruta.
Ruta was fired in 2015 after spending $5.2 million over two years, producing only three reports, and becoming locked in a legal dispute with the audit council overseeing her office. She sued government and settled out of court for $141,995.
Robinson, when in opposition, called the office “a frigging disaster.”
She reiterated that Monday.
“Gordon Ruth has done a great job of fixing what was a disaster,” she said. “But we’re still seeing from UBM that it’s not with what they say they need and what they want. And so you know I’m prepared to engage with them around so how can we get good value for money on all fronts.”
The Union of B.C. Municipalities supports scrapping the office, said president Maja Tait, who is the mayor of Sooke. “With the expense of the office, we are glad that it’s being phased out.”
“We just feel the design of the system hasn’t worked when you have one auditor serving 189 local governments. This is likely why no other jurisdiction in North America has an office like this.”
Tait praised Ruth for fixing the office, but acknowledged municipalities remain upset at how the Liberals forced the office upon them seven years ago.
“There are still some hurt feelings from some local governments from the beginning, but others that have had more professional experience feel different. It’s just is this the best way to use our resources.”
Ruth admitted the office’s early introduction was difficult to overcome.
“I know that was going to be a challenge when I took the position,” he said. “The political issues were not something certainly within my mandate. In any environment, you always have some individuals very supportive and others not. I was aware that was there. I was hopeful we managed to press that. There certainly were some challenges.”
Robinson said the province will work with municipalities to find some other mechanism to help find efficiencies in local government operations.
UBCM members would like to see support for the existing local Government Finance Officers Association, which provides training and resources to financial directors at municipalities.
Opposition Liberal MLA Todd Stone said he thinks many communities are still interested in an independent auditor to determine whether local taxes and fees are being spent appropriately.
“I find it regrettable that the government has determined that there’s not enough value in this office for maintaining it moving forward,” said Stone.
Stone said he thinks the decision to close the office is a budgetary measure by an NDP government looking for internal savings to keep the treasury in surplus.
The local auditor has completed 30 performance audits in the past seven years, including examining human resources, clean drinking water, emergency management, policing agreements and procurement within municipal governments.
The office is currently auditing capital project management at the District of Mackenzie, as well as emergency management at the Fraser Valley Regional District.
The last audit will be into the Johnson Street Bridge project at the City of Victoria.