Make Richmond County expense report public before election, resident argues

A draft report of an investigation into travel and expense claims made by Richmond County councillors is ready, but secret — and one resident is arguing the public should see the details before next month's municipal election.

Germaine MacDonald, a resident in the county and one of the people who took her concerns about municipal spending to the provincial ombudsman's office, said the public has a right to know.

"Given that there is an election on Oct. 15 and there's seven out of 10 councillors reoffering, I think the report should be made public to be fair to all candidates running," she said.

"Some councillors have said in the past that there will be nothing to see in these reports. Let the taxpayers decide for themselves if this is true. If there is nothing to hide, you hide nothing."

Marked confidential

In March, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia's ombudsman's office said an annual audit raised concerns about Richmond County expense claims and made 20 recommendations to improve practices.

The office had also received several complaints from residents worried about how their tax dollars were being spent.

As a result, the ombudsman's office decided to do a general investigation. On Thursday evening, a draft of that report was given to councillors and senior staff. It has not been released publicly.

Three councillors who spoke with CBC News — Alvin Martell, Malcolm Beaton and Rod Samson — said the ombudsman's report is marked confidential. They said councillors and administrators have been given an opportunity to review the findings before the final report is written.

Forensic audit ongoing

An independent forensic audit by Grant Thornton into expense and credit card charges over the past five years is still in the works.

Warden Victor David, who has said the results of both audits will be made public, said whether voters see the findings before they head to the polls depends on how quickly the councillors and CAO respond to the ombudsman's draft report.

"They have a 30-day limit on it. If it's not done in 30 days, they will issue it as it is," he said.

"I just wish that everything would be finished before the election. I don't think a new council should be dealing with these issues. I think it should be dealt with and finalized before."