Exposed Chestermere Council's financial inquiry will be released

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An Alberta government investigation into the City of Chestermere's financial problems under fired Mayor Jeff Colvin is complete and the province is expected to issue a report next week, city officials said.

Municipal Affairs Minister Rick McIver launched the financial probe in January after he sacked Colvin, half of Chestermere Town Council and three senior officials late last year. It was the city's second municipal audit since 2022, the first being a management investigation that found the city was mismanaged and ultimately led to the firing.

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A financial audit led by auditing firm Deloitte was completed last month. It looked at the city's finances between the October 2021 election and the December 2023 firing, delving into financial irregularities uncovered in the first municipal audit and the city's subsequent oversight. The study focused on:

• Financial policy, financial control and financial management
• A sample of financial transactions, including verification of compliance with relevant legislation, established policies and budget allocation processes
• General administrative expenses and council expenses
• Financial reporting
• Rent and purchase, including payments for services

The report has been in the hands of provincial officials since mid-April and embargoed copies of the document were recently shared with the city.

“City of Chestermere Municipal Audit Report Deloitte Inc. supports all the findings and conclusions reached,” interim CAO Pat Vincent said at a special meeting Monday.

No information has been released about the nature of the investigation's findings or the province's guidelines.

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City officials authorized the minister to send letters responding to the inspection report and instructions from the province. Vincent says the two ministerial draft directives are “reasonable” and the city is implementing many of Deloitte's recommendations as outlined in the report.

His letter to the minister shows that Chestermere has “come back from a period of great uncertainty and instability”, Vincent said. He said the city is now hiring best-in-class professionals and is “on the way to the gold standard in municipal organizational excellence.”

Acting administrator Doug Lagore – appointed by the province to act as the whole council before the election – said the city expects the province to release the report “late this week or early next week”.

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A by-election to fill five vacant council seats is scheduled for June, but a date has not yet been announced.

Colvin said he and the ousted council members — Mel Foat, Blaine Funk and Steven Hanley — will run for by-elections if their court challenges to their ouster are unsuccessful.

The four beleaguered politicians have been speaking in towns and cities across the province for the past few months, alleging that the province, as well as other organizations, had conspired against them over the sacking.

Councilors Shannon Dean, Sandy Johal-Watt and Ritesh Narayan — whose complaints, along with complaints from city employees and residents, helped spark the first management investigation — escaped McIver's firing order in December, though Johal-Watt has since resigned and accepted a court order. administrative work in the city.

Dean and Narayan are still holding their posts, but will remain out until after the election.

Postmedia reached out to Secretary McIver's office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

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