It wasn’t unanimous, but council has approved the formation of a “compliance audit committee” to investigate complaints about campaign funding for the municipal election.
Recent amendments to the Municipal Act require all municipalities to appoint a committee to handle requests for compliance audits of a candidate’s finances.
The committee must be formed by Oct. 1, be composed of three to seven members and cannot include township employees, councillors, or any candidates in the election.
Clerk Patty Sinnamon said ideally the committee will include auditors or accountants, lawyers, academics, and others with knowledge of the rules of the Municipal Election Act.?She recommended remuneration of $250 for a full day and $125 for a half-day.
Sinnamon said in her report “this is an effective way of attracting candidates to [the committee], as it will compensate members for the time away from their profession, while at the same time recognizing that an established skill set is required for appointment.”
But councillor Bruce Whale wondered if accountants, for example, would be willing to sit on the audit committee, considering their regular pay is closer to $250 “per hour” than $250 per day.
“I think it would just be easier to outlaw election expenses,” Whale said with a smile, adding he has a few problems with the idea of an audit committee.
But the rest of council agreed to establish the committee, begin recruiting members and set the per diem at $250 and $125.
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In May, Guelph-Eramosa agreed to form its own three-member audit committee – also with a per diem of $250.
Clerk Meaghen Reid said her research showed the pay for committee members ranges from $100 to $400 per meeting (plus mileage), depending on the number of members and size of the municipality.
There was no mention in Sinnamon’s recommendation about the number of members that should form the Mapleton audit committee.
