Auditor complains of Sudbury staff 'cat and mouse game'
Brian Bigger says city administration continues to be unco-operative
CBC News
Posted: Mar 20, 2013 9:27 AM ET
Last Updated: Mar 20, 2013 9:20 AM ET
Sudbury's auditor general says city staff are still making it difficult for him to do his job.
Brian Bigger presented a report Tuesday to city council and said some municipal staff are taking too long to get back to him — or are refusing to respond at all.
He said council needs to enforce the rules to which they agreed when he was hired.
"We've experienced delays in excess of 10 weeks on asking questions," Bigger said. "We need some help."
Councillors expressed support for Bigger's office, but some wondered why he chose to complain at a public meeting when there is already a committee created to help him with this very issue.
Councillor Dave Kilgour said he met with Bigger, along with other councillors, two weeks ago and this report wasn't mentioned.
"I find it disconcerting that that wouldn't have been the top priority at our last meeting," he said.
Bigger said it's his frustration with his current audit that led him to present his report. The current audit looks at advertising revenue in the city's transit department, but Bigger said that audit will now be delayed.
Other councillors voiced their support for Bigger and offered to meet with him, but none said specifically how they would get staff to co-operate in the future.
Bigger said delays in obtaining information from staff have been a recurring problem during his time as auditor general.
"It shouldn't be this cat and mouse game," he said. "We're trying to work with staff."
Share Tools
Latest Sudbury News Headlines
- Concrete fell months before Elliot Lake mall collapse

- Testimony at the inquiry looking into the fatal roof collapse at the mall in Elliot Lake has raised questions about whether some at city hall put financial concerns ahead of safety. more »
- Boaters not getting message about life jackets: OPP
- Boaters are still not getting the message about life jackets says OPP Inspector Mark Andrews. more »
- Construction to start on Sudbury water sports centre
- Sudbury's canoe club is preparing for what it hopes will be the last summer in its current building, as construction is expected to begin on the multi-million-dollar Northern Water Sports Centre. more »
- Federal Court won't remove MPs over election robocalls
- The Federal Court didn't throw six MPs out of their seats over allegations of widespread vote suppression through automated robocalls in the 2011 federal election. But Judge Richard Mosley did find that fraud occurred, linked to the Conservative Party's database. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Will Rob Ford's supporters leave Ford Nation?
- The growing controversy over a purported video alleging to show Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine may be testing the faith of even his most die-hard supporters. But experts say Ford's policies may trump whatever personal issues he's facing, and that his supporters may rally behind him. more »
- Royal Bank pledges not to outsource jobs for cash savings
- Royal Bank has promised it will never outsource a Canadian job to a foreign worker solely to save money. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?
- In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
- Making The Mandela Tapes
- Producer Robin Benger describes how he obtained broadcast access to interviews Nelson Mandela recorded in the 1990s. A CBC Radio Ideas program on the Mandela tapes airs May 28. more »
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict. more »

