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Where Things Stand: How can more bureaucracy help us?
Mac Olsen
for South Peace News
Another rubber stamp or another naysayer – just what High Prairie needs if the provincial government proceeds with the establishment of a municipal auditor general.
The government is proposing the position under Bill 202 and the Standing Committee on Community Services is seeking feedback from municipalities. Under the proposal, the Lieutenant Governor in Council would appoint the auditor, who would conduct random audits of municipalities, make recommendations respecting their financial statements, etc.
However, local politicians are rejecting the proposal out of hand, and well they should. Talking to Councillors Arnold Aarts and Wayne Forrester, they find no value in having a municipal auditor general.
“I don’t think we need to have Big Brother watching us, that’s basically what it is,” says Forrester.
“I think it’s a total waste of time and it’s not a requirement. We don’t need to have somebody appointed by the government second guessing us.”
Aarts says having the municipal auditor general would be a duplication of effort.
“The government should stay out of it because we have our own auditor. It would just be a waste of money and a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy,” says Aarts.
They are correct in their assessments. Why should taxpayers’ money be spent giving another bureaucrat in Edmonton a magnifying glass to scrutinize the finances of the Town of High Prairie?
Governments at all levels are required to have their finances and financial statements audited every year by accountants. They are trained professionals who do the scrutinizing and make recommendations for changes if required. One accountant’s seal of approval is going to be just as good as two.
Only if the provincial government genuinely suspects financial fraud or inconsistent accounting practices on the part of a specific municipality should an outside audit be conducted.
If the government genuinely wants to serve High Prairie and the region, not only should it abandon the municipal auditor general proposal, it should also stop endlessly reviewing the new hospital.
Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pearl Calahasen has appointed Brian Holmberg, George Keay, Dr. Robyn Laughlin, Ken Matthews, Barry Sharkawi, Hazel Vicklund and Janice Willier to the Hospital Restructuring Committee. They are supposed to make their recommendations later in 2009.
But what’s to say the bureaucrats and bean counters in Edmonton will not reject their recommendations? We’ll be back at square one if this happens.
Sure, the building’s foundation has to be redesigned and the hospital is now $10 million over budget. But was it not the provincial government that set the parameters for designing and costing out the new hospital originally?
This is not the fault of High Prairie residents and those who have been lobbying for the new hospital. The bureaucrats and government owe it to High Prairie and the region to fix the design problems they should have foreseen and build the hospital in its entirety for $60 million.
Also, look at the proposed municipal auditor general with strong scepticism, given what has been happening with the hospital.
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