Audit clears Corman Park

A financial audit has cleared the RM of Corman Park of wrongdoing — but that hasn’t resolved the rift in its council.

In May, Coun. Gord Gunoff introduced a motion to have the town’s auditors investigate what he said were $442,695.50 in unapproved staff salary increases.

But in a press release issued Tuesday, the RM said its legal team, Robertson Stromberg LLP, auditors, Jensen Stromberg Chartered Accountants, and the RCMP found nothing wrong.

“It was determined that a reorganization and associated wage increases to administrative staff were considered and approved by the RM council human resources committee in 2012, and subsequently (by the) RM council, and that a significant portion of the increase was attributed to filling vacant positions with well qualified individuals.

“No wrongdoing by council or administration was found, and all wage rates have been reaffirmed by council as appropriate and reapproved.”

The RM has not released the actual audit.

“There was nothing found out of order and I think the ironic part of it is that the person that was pushing all of this (Gunoff) was part of the HR committee that actually approved (the increases),” Reeve Judy Harwood said.

“He was on the HR committee back in August (2012) when this new schedule was brought forward. It was approved at the HR committee, then it was taken to council and a motion was passed to accept it.”

But Gunoff said the audit doesn’t prove the increases were done properly.

“Robertson Stromberg, who the hell are they to tell us whether it was right or wrong? They’re only auditors, all they said was it wasn’t over budget,” he said.

Gunoff denied being on the human resources committee that approved the new salaries. He said that four-person committee was changed to a committee of the whole in July 2012.

“We never OK’d anything in the HR committee,” he said.