AN OUTLINE OF FAILURE

O" Meanwhile, the costs and funding of Aurora’s Joint Operations Centre is expected to come into focus on April 4 as Mr. Elliott presents a detailed financial summary of costs and work to date. In his new report to Council, he pegs the JOC coming in $103,027 further over budget which will continue to be funded through DCs.

The report also outlines “lessons learned” through the whole contentious process, recommending for the future “standardization of the Town’s internal project management framework, improved internal financing reporting and project management financial skills; that larger projects should have a financial analyst assigned to assist in the monitoring of project expenses; greater clarification of the roles of any steering or monitoring committee; improved clarity of project scope, inclusions and exclusions from the beginning with clarity for Council as well; improved understanding of the evolution of initial concept estimates through to final construction tender budgets; and clear separation of pre-construction costs and budgets (space needs, concept plans, location and site selection, and acquisition costs) from detailed design, construction and commissioning costs and budget.”

 

 Stephanie cut and copied the above from a four column story by Brock Weir. On page 13. of 

March 30 edition ,took up full width and half the length of the page. Mostly information.Except for the last two paragraphs . They are electric. 

The  chief financial officer reports to Council. 

Now that position was filled by the former chief administrative officer. No competition. No interview. No portfolio. Simply an announcement behind closed doors of an interim appointment made without authority or  knowledge of council. 

We later  learned the job was offered with coffee in a donut shop. The permanent  appointment was announced the same as the first.... behind closed doors. 

References to the Municipal Act's requirement of a competition and bylaw appointment were ignored.

Save for my own opposition, the decision was accepted as presented. 

That was ten years ago. Previously ,Aurora's new top financial officer  was employed for a year by a consultant and before that, served eleven years as treasurer, aka chief financial officer, in the town of Richmond Hill. 

Richmond Hill subsequently adopted a commission  system. The new top financial post was not offered to the treasurer. 

The paragraph copied from the Auroran contains  self -acknowledged absence of skills ordinarily and reasonably expected of the municipal financial officer. Remuneration is paid commensurate with required professional  attributes .

Sound judgement is expected with the package.