City taxpayers may be on the hook for as much as $120,000 for a municipal inspection.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs has ordered a “limited scope municipal inspection” of St. Albert’s governance, and the city will be asked to foot the bill.
In a letter to Mayor Nolan Crouse dated Dec. 14, and received by the city Dec. 19, Minister Danielle Larivee said a preliminary review “identified concerns that justify an in-depth review of governance practices.”
Under section 579 of the Municipal Governance Act, the minister has the authority to charge fees in connection with any service, and she noted that since council had requested the inspection, the city would bear the full cost – estimated at between $60,000 and $120,000.
The preliminary review came as a result of Coun. Cathy Heron’s motion July 4 asking the minister to “conduct an inspection into the governance of the city of St. Albert,” which passed 5-2 with Crouse and Coun. Tim Osborne opposed.
Heron said she was surprised by both the nature of the inspection, being of limited scope and focusing solely on the governance of the city. She said she made the motion in response to public concerns about how former Coun. Gilles Prefontaine was hired to a senior-manager role with the city while he was sitting on council.
“When I got the letter, it looks like they’re really going to focus on council, its behaviours and conduct in chambers, how we behave in committees and how we prepare,” she said. “It doesn’t look like they’re going to focus anything on hiring practices in the city.”
Heron said she was also concerned about the fact the minister has ordered the city to pay for the inspection. She said she would not have made the motion if she had realized what it might cost.
Heron said the relationship between cities and the province is often likened to that of a big brother and child.
“When we ask them for help, they should be there to help us and not charge us back,” she said.
The ministry staff conducted preliminary interviews with councillors and senior staff in late September, to determine if a full inspection was warranted.
A full inspection can focus on all aspects of a municipality’s operations. In this case the limit into the city’s governance could include: the structure of council committees, processes and procedures used to prepare for meetings, conduct of meetings, council’s understanding of its role and responsibilities, council’s leadership and effectiveness working together and council’s policy and procedures.
Municipal Affairs spokesperson Jerry Ward said in an email that a request for proposals to conduct the inspection will be issued, though it has not yet been posted.
As for charging the city, he said the ministerial order is now signed and the city will be expected to pay for the inspection as the request came from council.
“The city has the financial ability to undertake their own governance review, but has asked that the minister appoint an independent inspector to help resolve their ongoing internal issues and to ensure an unbiased review,” he said.
Ward said municipal inspections have, in the past, taken on average nine months to finish, but as this one is limited to governance practices, the timeframe may be shorter. As such it’s unclear whether a report will be presented to council prior to the municipal election on Oct. 16, 2017.
Crouse said he’s not surprised the minister has ordered the inspection, considering council made the request. He said he didn’t vote for the inspection in July and wouldn’t vote for one now, but that he respects council’s decision.
As for the timing of the news, and why it wasn’t made public before Christmas, he said he saw it and put it in his pile for discussion at the Jan. 9 meeting and didn’t think more of it. He reiterated that despite speculation to the contrary, the coming inspection did not factor into his announcement last week that he would not seek re-election.
“This is not part of my decision. It’s just not,” he said. “I have an interest in another career, and I can’t have that interest if I stay four more years as the mayor.”
