CITYnews halifax: Police investigating mayoral expenses flagged by auditor general

CITYnews halifax / By Mark Hodgins

The municipal auditor general has asked police to investigate several expenses filed by Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore.

Andrew Atherton says four transactions filed by the mayor’s office did not follow municipal policies.

The transactions included $14,000 for an external speechwriter and $90,000 for a reorganization of the mayor’s office —neither of which were subjected to a competitive bidding process.

The auditor general says the RCMP will now investigate.

“It’s a professional judgement for me of where things move potentially past non-compliant into an area where I’m not qualified to say whether something is illegal or not illegal,” Atherton told the audit and finance standing committee on Monday. “And when I get to that point where I’m not sure, as a CPA and as an employee of the municipality, I feel it’s my responsibility to pass it on to somebody who is qualified to make that assessment.”

Mayor Fillmore told the committee he fully cooperated with the audit.

“The legal invoices have been repaid, and I think we are moving forward in a good way now,” he said.

With files from the Canadian Press