IH board spending controls tightened

Compensation, expense policies changed in wake of audit pointing to handful of ‘low risk’ practices

Interior Health has tightened spending controls, says the agency’s new chairman, after an internal audit revealed lax oversight of the board of directors’ expense claims.

Auditors found meals reimbursed without detailed receipts, as well as hotels and dinners that cost far more than allowed by policy, according to a report obtained by the Herald through a freedom-of-information request.

The probe examined $155,000 in compensation and $108,000 in expenses for the nine-person board of directors during the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2015.

“Overall, the majority of board compensation and expense payments tested complied with policy,” concluded the report, which nonetheless drew attention to a handful of “low risk” findings.

The first anomaly was mileage claims that were automatically generated based on directors’ home addresses and approved for payment without directors signing off as required by policy to confirm the travel actually took place.

“If the director was already in the city where the meeting will occur or on personal travel in another location, there is some risk they might be paid for travel that did not occur,” the report noted.

The second anomaly concerned costs for meals and hotels that exceeded what was allowed by policy.

The audit flagged 11 reimbursed hotel stays that averaged $275 per night, nearly double the $150 before taxes that was permitted without pre-approval.

It also highlighted a catered dinner event for 25 people that cost $54 a head before taxes and tip, more than the $50 allowed by policy for an entire day’s worth of meals while on IH business.

Finally, the audit team found 17 meal claims averaging $30 each had been approved without itemized receipts.

Geoff Payton with the City of Williams Lake says officials are working on plans for re-entry, but there’s no set date for when people will be able to return.

A wildfire continues to burn about seven kilometres outside of the city, Payton said.

“It wouldn’t take much more than a strong wind event to blow it into town,” he said.

The province allowed people

back onto lakes in the Cariboo region surrounding Williams Lake on Sunday, but warned that firefighting aircraft might need to access the water.

More than 4,000 people were fighting 150 wildfires burning across the province Sunday afternoon, including one near Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, near the B.C.-Alberta boundary.

The fire caused the BC Wildfire Service to close the park as a “proactive measure” because it is accessible only by hiking trails and would be difficult to evacuate if needed.

British Columbia has seen nearly 740 fires burn through almost 3,700 square kilometres since April 1, costing the province more than $125 million in fire suppression.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale visited Kamloops on Saturday to announce the federal government will be adding to funds managed by the Canadian Red Cross to help the 44,000 people displaced due to the crisis.

He said the province is only in the beginning of the fire season and has already been facing a very dangerous and difficult situation.