Former B.C. auditor general for municipalities weighs in on Metro Vancouver spending

British Columbia’s erstwhile auditor wide for section governments, whose bureau was disbanded by the BC NDP government, says caller contention astir spending astatine Metro Vancouver shows the worth his bureau brought to the province.

Gordon Ruth’s comments travel amid contention implicit the ballooning costs of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant and Global News reporting connected Metro Vancouver question and lawsuit spending, on with person wage for serving connected the determination district’s boards.

“You look astatine immoderate of the challenges astir the Metro Vancouver wastewater attraction plant, you look astatine immoderate of the challenges (Global News has) raised, those are each things that could autumn wrong the mandate of an auditor wide successful section government,” Ruth told Global News connected Thursday.

“Part of the full happening of having an auditor wide reappraisal of the North Shore attraction works is trying to rebuild trust. That’s not the constituent of the audit, but it volition execute that … it would reply a batch of the questions.”

The Office of the Auditor General of Local Governments was created successful 2012 by the erstwhile BC Liberal Government, with the purpose of uncovering outgo savings and efficiencies astatine the municipal level.

In 2017, the NDP campaigned connected eliminating the bureau aft controversy erstwhile the archetypal auditor wide filed conscionable 3 reports successful 3 years.

After taking power, the NDP authorities reversed that determination erstwhile a 2019 survey recovered a bulk of audited governments felt they had benefited from the auditor’s work.

The authorities reversed people successful 2020, amid friction with the Union of B.C. Municipalites.

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Ruth told Global News helium has written to the provincial authorities with suggestions connected however to amended the oversight of municipal governments.

Among his suggestions is expanding the scope of B.C.’s existing provincial auditor general’s mandate to see municipalities.

“They’ve got staff, they’ve got experience. Their bureau was astir apt astatine slightest 10 times the size of the Auditor General for Local Governments Office.”

The state appears to beryllium taking a wait-and-see approach, responding to Ruth with a missive saying existent policies supply capable oversight.

“There person been nary calls by section governments done the Union of BC Municipalities to adhd tools, see them successful the purview of the Office of the Auditor General oregon re-establish an Auditor General for Local Governments,” the effect from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs said.

In a connection to Global News the ministry said that elected officials are accountable to their constituents and are expected to beryllium transparent.

“When circumstances necessitate it, section governments and determination districts tin clasp autarkic auditing services connected their ain to reappraisal the implementation of circumstantial projects and fiscal practices,” the ministry said.

“While we are not considering adding an further oversight body, the Ministry volition proceed to enactment with section governments to amended fiscal transparency and accountability.”

Metro Vancouver, meanwhile, has promised an interior reappraisal of its governance.

The determination territory has besides pledged an independent review of outgo overruns astatine the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant.