Aldermen call for external audit
Posted Jun 7, 2010 2:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Alderman aren’t ruling out asking the province to investigate amid allegations of fraud in the city’s procurement department.
The city manager is set to release a special report to council after the municipal auditor revealed last month that the department went $747-million over budget in awarding city contracts.
Aldermen are pledging to do everything necessary to get to the bottom of the situation, including asking the provincial government to step in.
But, Alderman Joe Connelly says that should be a last resort.
“I would hope that we would be able to solve our own challenges within city hall and come up with some explanations for the citizens of Calgary that they’re satisfied. Barring that, then yes, I’m not adverse to going to the province,” he says.
Other aldermen are calling for an external audit and say that if there’s concrete evidence of fraud then the police would have to be called in.
Members of council will first get their eyes on the report in a closed-door meeting with the city manager, prompting angry calls from some who say all discussions on the matter should be made public.
