Viewing the live stream broadcast of St. Albert City Council’s meeting of Tuesday, April 7 was more disturbing than ever as it revealed just how inept our local municipal government has become. I refer specifically to agenda item 6.5: Council Expense Audit and Process Review that originated from a concern last year surrounding apparent double expense claims by Mayor Nolan Crouse in connection with his chairmanship of the Capital Region Board (C.R.B). At the time, a motion was made requesting an independent external audit that after major amendments became a much broader internal examination of all council members’ expense accounts to be conducted by city staff under the direction of the city manager. Discussion of the report submitted Tuesday concentrated almost exclusively on specific items from the expense claims of individual councillors.
Virtually no mention was made concerning the double billing issue involving the mayor that provided the impetus for the examination in the first place. In addition, council was informed that a copy of the report had been provided to the RCMP for examination resulting in a decision to take no action and the file was considered closed. During the debate, comments and suggested amendments from councillors Hughes and MacKay were received in the usual disdainful manner and dismissed without serious consideration by the mayor and his cohorts. Just prior to the usual 5 to 2 vote, the mayor responded with supposedly unplanned yet obviously scripted remarks consisting largely of self-praise for which neither the necessity nor purpose was clear. Through the acceptance of appropriate recommendations current policies and procedures regarding expense claims will duly receive serious scrutiny and necessary modifications. Other than that the report was received as information and effectively placed on a back shelf.
An appropriate descriptor for the report is contained within the title of this letter. The Standard College Dictionary (Canadian Edition) defines the term whitewash as; “A covering up or glossing over of reprehensible actions or inefficiencies especially of a political figure.” Had a proper independent forensic audit been conducted and the results been the same then so be it. Sadly, unless it should still come to pass, none of us will ever know. This in itself is the worst shame of all and for that alone we citizens/electors should be deservedly outraged!
Murray Lambert, St. Albert
