The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is among one of the first jobs ahead for the new auditor general for local government.
The AGLG's office announced its first performance audits Wednesday. Over the course of the next year, how the regional district hires suppliers to provide various goods and services will be analyzed to make sure the district is receiving good value.
The other local governments slated for involvement are the City of Vernon, the Corporation of Delta, the City of Revelstoke, the Comox Valley Regional District and the District of West Vancouver.
Four other audit topics the office will tackle this year are: local government performance in managing police agreements and police budget oversight; local government capital projects and asset management programs; the role of local government in ensuring clean drinking water; and managing the risks of limited human resources within small local governments.
"This process included extensive consultation with local governments and other stakeholders on issues most relevant to them in their efforts to deliver value for the tax dollars they spend," said auditor general for local government Basia Ruta
Board chair Art Kaehn said he sees the regional district's inclusion as a positive thing.
"The regional district is quite frankly pleased to be selected as one of the first local governments, particularly regional districts to work through a performance audit," he said, noting the other municipalities included cover a wide spectrum of sizes and resources.
"I see this as a great opportunity to learn how others are doing things and what best practices can come out of this review."
Kaehn said RDFFG staff and board members engaged with Ruta early on in her term.
"We have had good conversations," he said, adding local staff will be among those breaking ground with audit staff in the review process. "We going to learn something out of this."
The audits related to cost containment are scheduled to be reported on by March 31, 2014. The others are aiming for an Aug. 21, 2014 reporting deadline.
Information on the ongoing audits can be found on the office's website at www.aglg.ca.
