Council will debate the hiring of an internal auditor this fall. Coun. Cam MacKay asked administration Monday to come back with a business case outlining three different options – retaining audit services through a private firm, the City of Edmonton's internal audit department or as a City of St. Albert employee – in time for 2016 budget talks.
Council will debate the hiring of an internal auditor this fall.
Coun. Cam MacKay asked administration Monday to come back with a business case outlining three different options – retaining audit services through a private firm, the City of Edmonton's internal audit department or as a City of St. Albert employee – in time for 2016 budget talks.
The motion passed five to one.
The internal auditor would work independently from administration and report solely to the public and to council for the remainder of the current term – ending in 2017 – with the possibility for the next council to renew the services.
MacKay, who was hoping to have the question of hiring an internal auditor included on the June byelection ballot, told council that St. Albert is not-so-slowly transforming into a bigger municipality and it will “need the tools” to deal with this reality.
He argued that while accountability in smaller communities is often high, simply because everyone knows each other, larger municipalities require a more stringent series of checks and balances.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said that she attended an information session with the City of Edmonton's internal audit department and was impressed with what she heard.
“They are the eyes and ears of council,” she said. “They can go places council can't go and ask questions that council needs to ask but can't ask.”
MacKay has been championing the idea for years. He said an internal auditor could not only investigate issues of fraud or misconduct, but help identify efficiencies.
City manager Patrick Draper told council that administration was very supportive of the motion and wants to help council see it through.
“We welcome a process like this to help us improve,” he said.
Draper suggested that retaining an auditor through cost sharing or a contract with the City of Edmonton poses a procurement problem. He noted that a formal request for proposal process was needed to avoid sole sourcing.
The question of whether or not the city can legally hire an internal auditor as an employee has come up in the past, but a report to council indicates that the Municipal Government Act has no stipulation on internal reviews outside the scope of mandated financial audits.
Mayor Nolan Crouse, who voted against the motion, asked administration to double check that point with the department of municipal affairs.
