KPMG Report has Cleared Town of Allegations of Fraud, Misconduct and its ‘Time to Move On’
A News Release from the Town of Pellham in Niagara, Ontario
Posted December 22nd, 2017 on Niagara At Large
Pelham, Ontario – Questions related to allegations of fraud, misconduct, misrepresentation, or wrongdoing have been answered and proven false through an exhaustive 100-page final report by KPMG. As a result, Pelham Town Council determined there is no need for an additional public meeting.
Questions and concerns regarding other Town business will continue to be answered through usual channels.
Since March 2017, Pelham Council and staff have provided documentation (330+ page response document), held meetings (evening with the experts), and complied with a financial investigation (KPMG audit) in response to initial allegations by a member of Niagara Regional Council.
“For nearly 10 months our responses to the ongoing allegations have been consistent, and KPMG has validated these facts in their final report: there is no unreported debt, the Town is within its annual debt repayment limit, transactions in East Fonthill were done according to the Acts and by laws, and no financial statements have been misstated,” said Mayor Dave Augustyn.
“Our default is to always be as open, transparent, and accommodating to the public as possible. If there are questions, we listen to them and we answer them – it is what we have done since March. The final report closes the door on these allegations.”
As part of the KPMG audit, the public had an opportunity to submit questions directly to the auditor. Of the 17,000-plus residents and hundreds of Pelham businesses, a total of 160 questions were submitted from 50 email addresses.
The KPMG report addressed the questions and the themes generated therein.
With the release of the full KPMG report, Town Council says they are ready to move forward and get back to governing.
“Enough is enough, it’s time for us to move on,” said Councillor Catherine King.
Councillor Gary Accursi, who presented the motion to forgo an additional meeting, says that the Town has done everything possible to address the myriad of allegations.
“We brought in the experts who advised us as we moved through the myriad of legislation,” he said. “Pelham has taken unprecedented steps for a municipality in our effort to be open and transparent. It is time to move forward with the governance of this municipality.”
The full KPMG report, including a forensic review of Town finances from 2008-2017, and the presentations from Nov. 29, can be found on the Town’s website.
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In my opinion these accusations put forth by Port Colborne Regional Councilor, David Barrick were aimed directly at the Pelham Mayor and were nothing more than a witch hunt formulated in an attempt to cast aspersions on Mayor Augustyn, stemming from the mayor’s criticisms of the NPCA and its parent body the Niagara Regional Council.
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No bloody wonder.
Mayor Augustine has been viciously abused by the right wing clique at the regional Council. It’s an insane bloody disgrace. And I’m not even a liberal. You go, Ted.
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I fully agree with the commentary as articulated by Joseph Somers. I have a sense that most of us see it that way. It is my sincere hope that the City of Pelham pursues litigation against David Barrick specifically and his supporters at Niagara Region generally. The character assassination cast, the expenses incurred and the disruption experienced are unprecedented, highly irregular and need to be accounted for.
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