Legislation to establish B.C.’s first Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) was back before the legislature Feb. 14 and the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) is taking a wait-and-see approach on the matter, noting the province has heard its past concerns.

Bill 20 received second reading as the provincial government continues to work toward meeting Premier Christy Clark’s commitment to establish an Auditor General for Local Government to help ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are being used in the most efficient and effective way possible, stated a Feb. 14 Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development press release.The bill was first introduced in the legislature on Nov. 24, 2011.

“The Auditor General for Local Government would conduct value-for-money audits to help British Columbians see how their tax dollars are being spent. The AGLG would also provide information to local governments – information to help them make decisions going forward. This is another valuable tool to help build stronger communities that best support B.C. jobs and families,” said Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong.

“Local governments in B.C. have a strong commitment to public accountability and transparency.  By law, local governments cannot run deficits, have stringent controls related to borrowing, and set their budgets in open public meetings,” stated UBCM president Heath Slee, who is also director for Regional District of East Kootenay Electoral Area B.

“When the government first proposed a Municipal Auditor General, in addition to the provisions that are already in place, many of our members wanted assurance that the office would work within the parameters typical of an auditor general, that it would focus on performance audits and keep its hands off of local government policy. The government heard our message, and clarified the scope of what was being proposed,” Slee said, adding, “We will continue to monitor the progress of this legislation as it works its way through the legislature. We in local government are always cognizant of how our precious tax dollars are spent.”

Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett spoke in the Legislature in support of Bill 20. “It’s not about encroaching on local government jurisdiction… it’s about setting up a process whereby local government can get some independent advice about how they do business. I don’t actually understand why the opposition could be opposed to that,” he said.

“Essentially, what I think I just heard from the opposition was that we don’t really need to worry about how tax dollars are spent by the municipality. To me, that is borderline offensive. Hopefully local governments will learn through this process that there are better ways to do things, that they can deliver services more effectively than they’re delivering services at the present time and save their taxpayers some money. I don’t personally think that there’s much higher a priority in the work that we do as provincially elected officials than making sure that we treat tax dollars with respect.”

Bennett said he’s closely familiar with the workings of the local governments in his riding.

“I also have a first-rate relationship, I think, with local government officials throughout the Kootenay region; I actually work very, very closely with those folks. We work together on all kinds of projects. Sometimes it’s just a matter of working collaboratively with them to help them to accomplish the goals that they want to accomplish.

“When I talk to them about this, and when I say, ‘You know, this is an opportunity to learn maybe some better ideas, some better practices – you know, what’s somebody doing down the road in a different region that we might be able to learn from?’ The people that I talk to are actually quite open-minded to that, and I think, frankly, the opposition is going to be surprised and disappointed by the extent to which local government embraces this idea of a local government Auditor General,” he stated in the Legislature.

Preparations are underway to set up the AGLG office in Surrey, appoint an Audit Council and begin the search for the AGLG.

The BC Public Service Agency (BCPSA) will post the position of AGLG on its website this week. As well, the BCPSA will be placing advertisements for the position in various newspapers. Pending the legislation being brought into force, applicants would be assessed by the Audit Council once the province appoints the council’s members.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

Article Share