The provincial government has released a report into the finances of the City of Chestermere after the mayor and three councillors were dismissed late last year.
Mayor Jeff Colvin and three city councillors were fired by the province after the UCP government said they didn’t follow a number of directives to help improve the way the municipality was being run.
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver says the independent third party inspection by Deloitte looked at more than 10,000 correspondences, and interviewed 30 people.
“It was certainly a robust and thorough inspection,” says McIver. “The findings make it clear, during the time period from the last municipal election to the dismissal, the city’s finances were managed in an irregular, improper, and not prominent manner.”
McIver pointed to one part of the report that tested 565 council expenses, and found just one followed proper city policy.
He says Chestermere will now hold a byelection to replace the four fired politicians, but when that actually happens is up to the city and the province won’t be involved.
“Residents should stay tune to the city for the byelection date and be prepared to exercise their democratic rights,” he says.
The minister noted the fired mayor and councillors could run again if they so choose.
An inspection last year ultimately found that Chestermere was being governed in an improper manner.
In December, McIver issued a ministerial order dismissing the councillors and CAOs after the city failed to comply with the supervision of the official administrator and some of the minister’s directives from earlier last year.