Pelham residents looking for answers
Pelham residents want the truth regarding allegations about the town’s finances.
And they showed their appreciation with applause Thursday, when regional council approved recommendations from the Region’s audit committee that could help them get that information.
“Good or bad, we just want the truth. We are once again approaching you for your help,” said Nancy Beamer, representing a citizen’s group called Pelham DEBT.
“The Pelham DEBT group is concerned that the Town of Pelham is engaging in a fire sale of assets to try and mitigate the damage done by successive Pelham councils and their failure to provide proper oversight to their staff, and their finances.”
Residents concerns were based on allegations made by former Ward 1 Pelham Coun. Marvin Junkin, who told a local newspaper that an audit of town finances conducted during the summer showed $ 17- million of unreported debt had accumulated since 2008.
Beamer said the residents are “convinced that until the full results of the KPMG summer audit is released, all the financial statements from 2008 to 2016 must be considered suspect,” and asked regional council to use “every available option to compel our town of Pelham to release the documents.”
Regional councillors approved seven recommendations regarding the allegations.
The recommendations include that the Region “express concern” that it was not informed about a change in Pelham’s financial position, that the Region notify relevant lenders about a possible change in the town’s financial position, that a copy of the audit be shared with the Region and that regional staff be permitted to discuss the audit with KPMG. The recommendations also call for a report on ways to strengthen regional review and approval of local municipal debenture requests, that consideration of any additional Pelham debts be deferred until the audit is shared, that the resolution be circulated to local municipalities, Niagara MPPS, the Ombudsman office and the auditor general, and that the town asked to hold a public meeting two weeks prior to decisions to sell property.
Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn asked councillors to defer consideration of the recommendations until after a KPMG report on the town’s finances is released on Nov. 29.
He said the audit committee recommendations are “based on garbled, confused and inaccurate information from a resigned councillor.”
Caslin interrupted asking for an apology from Augustyn, who obliged.
I will apologize, but the information is inaccurate,” Augustyn said.
Grimsby Coun. Tony Quirk, audit committee chair, said the committee’s recommendations were based on correspondence, not a local newspaper article about Junkin’s statements.
“This isn’t hearsay. This isn’t garbled communications,” he said.
Earlier during the meeting, Beamer, said “the Pelham DEBT group has no reason to believe that allegations by former councillor Marvin Junkins are anything but genuine, and we question why he was not permitted to take home his personal notes during the Sept. 5 meeting.”
Responding to a questions from Port Colborne Coun. David Barrick, Beamer said the group had “no political agenda at all” in bringing the issues to regional council.
“The people just want answers,” she said.
Barrick said the audit committee recommendation “expresses the same spirit of intent.”
The Town’s lawyers, Danial and Partners LLP, sent a letter to the Region, Wednesday, saying the town “reserves its rights to claim recovery from the Region in the event the Town suffers damages as a result of any premature or inappropriate action of the Region.”