Metro Halifax
The municipality has implemented 33 of auditor general Larry Munroe’s 54 recommendations on how to ensure another concert cash scandal doesn’t happen.
A report to the municipality’s audit and finance committee Wednesday notes the other 21 recommendations are in progress. The bulk of the incomplete recommendations concern a new management agreement between Trade Centre Limited and the municipality for the Metro Centre.
“A draft management agreement has been developed outlining the relationship between the parties, specific levels of authority, reporting requirements, and performance measures,” the report, submitted by CAO Richard Butts, reads.
That agreement is currently being vetted by the city’s legal department and the provincial Department of Justice. It is slated to come before the committee before proceeding to a full council session for debate and ratification.
While the municipality has made some strides in improving internal business practices, a more “robust” ethics and value training for staff and councillors will have to wait for the October election.
“More detailed information on the delineation of roles between council and administration will be another component of (the) post-election council orientation,” the report states.
Council voted last month to swallow the almost $360,000 fronted to, but never paid back by, promoter Harold MacKay in relation to concerts on the Halifax Common in 2010. HRM was attempting to recover more of that money, presumably from Trade Centre Ltd., but the city’s legal department said that recovery looked unlikely.
Mayor Peter Kelly, a key figure in the subsequent scandal that rocked city hall, refused to comment on the matter after that vote. Because he didn’t chair the meeting, Kelly explained he would not comment.
A total of 12 recommendations made by auditor general Larry Munroe on a new management agreement between HRM and TCL are still “in progress,” while14 are complete.
