CFAX INTERVIEW – Chair John Treleaven is interviewed by Adam Stirling of CFAX, Hour 3 on June 14, 2023.
Watchdog files complaint under Community Charter
The municipal watchdog Grumpy Taxpayer$ has filed a formal complaint with the City of Langford council and its auditor arguing its financial plan format is substandard.
The 2023-27 Five-year Financial Plan consists of a 46-page financial printout that’s excessively confusing and complicated for most taxpayers. It’s a critical document for the successful management of a municipality and the only financial plan of its kind that we know of.
“The hallmarks of good governance are both accountability and transparency,” says John Treleaven, chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$.
“Neither are helped, only obscured, by giving the taxpayer an acre of numbers to try and figure out. Most of us aren’t accountants or financial officers.
“Council inherited this inadequate approach from the last administration. We urge the current council to update this process so its more complete, less complex and similar to all other municipalities. In our view the current approach already does not instill public confidence in local government as required in the new council code of conduct for Langford.
A separate seven-page document of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) does not compensate for an inadequate and substandard financial plan. It’s clearly not designed for public consumption or involvement or understanding.
The Community Charter – the underlying provincial legislation governing municipalities – is clear under Section 7 that the purpose of a municipality is “to provide good government” and “provide stewardship for its public assets.”
The financial obligations or operational plans of Langford are not readily apparent or discernible by the way it chooses to write a five-year financial plan, Treleaven says. “It’s urgent that this document be upgraded.”
This formal complaint to council and its auditor about the financial affairs of Langford is filed pursuant to Section 172 of the Community Charter.
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Langford Code of Conduct Policy, Feb. 6, 2023.
2023-27 Five Year Financial Plan, Saanich.
2023-27 Five Year Financial Plan, Colwood.