Third-party review finds no wrong-doing in Invest Medicine Hat procurement process

Deloitte LLP however, noted, that the report ” does not constitute an audit of the City of Medicine Hat’s policies, processes or procedures.”

But for mayor Ted Clugston, who was facing public scrutiny, the result was sweet vindication for the city.

“So what you had was over here were people screaming for corruption malfeasance, criminal activity to ‘Oh you forgot to dot an “I” and cross a “T”. So I am very happy. This is a great report, it is thorough, and it vindicates those people that were frankly dragged through the mud,” Clugston said.

Deloitte presented the findings during a closed -door council meeting but declined to present at the open council meeting to the public.

As part of the review, seven key parties and personnel were interviewed, however, none of them were from Invest Medicine Hat. Instead, among those interviewed were city manager Robert Nicolay, supply chain manager Richard Connolly, and managing director Rochelle Pancoast. MNP, the firm that was originally supposed to oversee the procurement was also selected.

During the council meeting, the gallery was filled with council candidates who were eager to hear the results.

“I don’t find it surprising. I think it was somewhat warranted But I’m glad to find no wrongdoing,” said council candidate Roger McClary.

While not surprised by the findings, some candidates remain skeptical as to if the review was conducted sufficiently.

“Mr. Nicolay said at the time that he did apologize for not publicizing it because he forgot. But like I say in my mind those are not small errors.. and when you are dealing with the public and public money you have to be more accountable than that”, said mayoral candidate Alan Rose.

Linnsie Clark, who is also running for mayor, said the Invest Medicine procurement is emblematic of the lack of transparency, that exists within the city.

” The community expressed a desire for greater fairness and a greater standard of ethics, and so in response to that, council used our money to pay for a report to answer a question that we didn’t ask. I think
( Councillor.) Hirsch raised it as, ‘Are we in trouble?’ was the question. That’s not what the community was saying. The community was saying we expect better,” Clark said.

The 25- page review came with a hefty price tag for taxpayers, totaling $75,000. Mayor Ted Clugston called the cost unfortunate and the review something that should have never had to happen.

” But we had to do it because of accusations in the community of corruption, and there were some very, very, serious accusations of conflict of interest that were made up,” Clugston said.

The review came up with three key recommendations for improvement. One is to update city policy such as the code of ethics which has not been updated since 1994. A second recommendation calls for the city to introduce a notice of planned procurement, which would provide transparent, advanced notice on business opportunities within the city. A third recommendation has also been made for the city to update their contracts and request for proposal templates so that they align with policy and trade agreements.

Now that the review has been completed, Mayor Ted Clugston said staff will look at adopting some of the recommendations.

by Tiffany Goodwein

Third-party review finds no wrong-doing in Invest Medicine Hat procurement process

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