Saving Vaughan - We must act NOW!

TO The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

WHEREAS, the current state of Vaughan’s elected body and senior staff’s inability to perform their respective duties and their continuance to mismanage the financial affairs and business of the municipality is detrimental to the municipality, and we the people and taxpayers of the City of Vaughan have lost confidence in this Council and their ability to perform the functions of office in good faith, accountably and in a transparent manner.

WHEREAS, the City of Vaughan elected body and senior staff have broken the public trust and confidence through their inaction on known serious misuses of taxpayer funds, and even after acknowledgement of the misuses have failed to take action to recover the funds or cease the misuses.

WHEREAS, the financial audits for the 2006 Municipal Elections requested by the taxpayers of Vaughan conducted by Ken Froese of LECG identified nearly 200 Municipal Elections Act contraventions for three of the elected members. The audits identified contraventions of all three members, resulting in two of the members facing potential removal from office due to over spending. Additional election contraventions include over contributions of funds, unreported expenses and improper use of elections funds which were used to pay for home repairs, clothes, car repairs and office equipment. The mayor and her spouse have been charged under the election act.

WHEREAS, the Audit conducted by Ernst and Young revealed that nearly $14,000 in taxpayer money was used by the CEO of the city, and authorized by the City Manager without any itemized receipts or reasonable justification of the use of public funds. Further investigation has identified thousands more of taxpayer money being used to reimburse Vaughan Council and Senior Staff without itemized receipts and business reasons for the expenditures.

WHEREAS, Vaughan Council in January 2008 was made aware by Ernst & Young of approximately $13,000 in public funds paid to and authorized by a spouse of a City employee working for an elected official, and in breech of proper policy including exceeding a $3,000 limit. No action has been taken to recover the money.

WHEREAS, a Local and Regional Councillor gave a $30,000.00 contract to an immediate family with no competitive bids. There are no policies governing elected officials that allow families, relatives and friends from benefiting financially.

WHEREAS, Vaughan Council continues to mismanage taxpayer funds where millions of dollars have been used to pay legal fees for lawsuits among members of council themselves and including a “slapp” suit launched against two of its residents.

WHEREAS, the residents of Vaughan were denied access to publicly available information and therefore forced to obtain documents revealing the misuse of public funds through Freedom of Information legislation and the Information Privacy Commission.

WHEREAS, Section 9 of the Municipal Affairs Act gives responsibility of enforcement to the Minister who has the power to appoint an auditor or monitor and has the power to direct a provincial audit of the financial affairs of the municipality on a petition in writing signed by not less than fifty ratepayers in a municipality.

WE the Taxpayers and Ratepayers of the City of Vaughan exercise our right and petition the Minister to appoint an Auditor to complete a forensic municipal audit of the City of Vaughan’s financial affairs from 2003 to present and additionally, should the outcome of the audit return a finding of significant issues we seek the appointment of a Supervisor to administer the affairs of the City of Vaughan in order to restore public confidence. Furthermore, we also request that any inappropriate spending of taxpayer’s money be reimbursed and the individuals responsible be held accountable.

I support this petition and sign my signature to it.