Nearly three years after going through the process the first time, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George staff are having another go-round with municipal watchdog staff.
As indicated in reports prepared for the 2016 budget, working with Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) staff is back on the work plan for the regional district.
"We're active with the AGLG staff on doing our review on operational procurement and reviewing information, clarifying information and we expect in the next few months there should be a report out," said chief administrator Jim Martin.
Things picked up again with the AGLG office in the late fall, Martin said.
The RDFFG review of how it hires suppliers to provide various goods and services was first announced back in the spring of 2013, and results were scheduled to be released by the end of March 2014.
The same topic was also studied in Vernon, Delta, Revelstoke, Comox Valley Regional District and West Vancouver. Along with the local regional district, Revelstoke is also awaiting its final report.
However, the auditor has been plagued with controversy in the intervening years, with the original auditor general Basia Ruta dismissed last spring after two years had gone by with less than a handful of the original 18 announced reports released.
A three-week review of the office by Chris Trumpy highlighted gaps in accountability standards (such as performance benchmarks), definitions of roles and responsibilities and other procedures within the office as well as the level of oversight allowed by the appointed audit council.
In the summer of 2015, the Union of B.C. Municipalities released the results of their own study of the office, which suggested it didn't have a firm grasp of how local governments work.
A new auditor general for local government, Gordon Ruth, was appointed in September.
