Greenwood has been tapped by the Offce of the Auditor General for Local Government to be the subject of a performance audit to assess how well they manage their limited human resources.
The city was told they could expect to receive more information on the process this fall. There will be a planning phase and an examination phase. The scope of the audit and criteria for the examination will be determined during the initial planning stage. The final audit report is expected during fiscal year 2015/16.
The Offce of the Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) was established through the Auditor General for Local Government Act, which came into effect on April 25, 2012.
Their purpose is to assist local governments in improving their operations by giving advice and recommendations on how to deliver their services more efficiently, effectively and economically.
Recommendations will flow from the audit but it is up to each local government to decide whether— and how—to act on them.
Seven audit topics have been established to date. Three relating to cost containment:
Topic 1 – Achieving Value for Money in Operational Procurement
Topic 2 – Local Government Performance in Managing Policing Agreements and Police Budget Oversight
Topic 3 – Learnings from Local Government Capital Procurement Projects and Asset Management Programs
The other four audit topics pertain to managing key risks:
Topic 4 – Local Government’s Role in Ensuring Clean Drinking Water
Topic 5 – Managing the Inherent Risks of Limited Human Resources within Small Local Governments. Greenwood, along with the District of Port Edward and Village of Anmore, has been selected to be the first municipalities for audit under Topic 5.
Topic 6 – Performance and Oversight of Fire Services relates to cost containment
Topic 7 – Local Government Performance in Building Permitting and Inspections
Greenwood Mayor Nipper Kettle expressed apprehension about the amount of staff time required to comply with the audit. He told council he made his concern known to the AGLG office when he had talked to Lisa Kristiansen, A/Senior Audit Manager.
The AGLG also publishes best practices reports allowing local governments the benefit of adopting practices that have proven to deliver particularly good value for money.
All AGLG audit reports are available online at aglg.ca and are released to the news media.