LETTER FROM CONCERNED PERSON OF NORTH PERTH

Municipal Staff Refuses to Show Invoices to Council or the Public

I have on several occasions requested to see the financial information of the Municipality of North Perth only to be refused by the Municipal Staff. The most recent attempt was met with the following email response on November 17, 2011 from our Treasurer;

The Municipality does not circulate invoices to Council or public review.

This outright refusal should raise the deepest concern to the citizens of this community as it relates to our right to access to our financial information and our ratepayers as “watch dogs” for the possibility of fraud or misappropriation. As a matter of interest you can get a copy of the Prime Minister of Canada’s (Honourable Steven Harper) expense report and receipts at no cost (online access), but you cannot get copy of invoices and expenses related to our on local government. If something seems terribly wrong with this picture, you are absolutely right.

We already know that staff are using the municipal credit cards for personal purchases despite the fact the bylaws do not permit staff to have corporate credit cards. The citizens and council should be deeply concerned as in recent years we have heard through the media about employees and executives of other corporations that have bilked their respective companies of millions if not billions of dollars. In my opinion is the root of our current economic climate, lack of accountability and transparency.

There should be no reason why any member of the public should not be able to look at invoices (at no cost) to see if indeed they are real and from real companies. Instead we have an administration whose mantra is concealment at any cost even to the people who they report to, the councillors. I like others voted for councillors who were going to invoke change, instead we have more of the same as before and staff keep getting away with interest free loans, and are allowed to make PERSONAL purchases using the credit card sponsored and guaranteed by us the ratepayers.

I for one believe the conduct of municipal staff is reprehensible and a travesty related to its municipal credit card fiasco and establishing costly barriers charging it’s citizens ($5.00 per request) to see the invoices that are incurred in the operation of this municipality.

What do you have to hide municipal staff and more importantly, when is this council going to “grow a set” and stand up for it’s citizens rights to the financial information of which we paid hefty taxes to operate this corporation.