Pelham Council Focused on Governing After KPMG Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2017

Pelham, ON – Questions related to allegations of fraud, misconduct, misrepresentation, or wrongdoing have been answered and proven false through an exhaustive 100-page final report by KPMG. As a result, Pelham Town Council determined there is no need for an additional public meeting.

Questions and concerns regarding other Town business will continue to be answered through usual channels.

Since March 2017, Pelham Council and staff have provided documentation (330+ page response document), held meetings (evening with the experts), and complied with a financial investigation (KPMG audit) in response to initial allegations by a member of Niagara Regional Council.

“For nearly 10 months our responses to the ongoing allegations have been consistent, and KPMG has validated these facts in their final report: there is no unreported debt, the Town is within its annual debt repayment limit, transactions in East Fonthill were done according to the Acts and by laws, and no financial statements have been misstated,” said Mayor Dave Augustyn. “Our default is to always be as open, transparent, and accommodating to the public as possible. If there are questions, we listen to them and we answer them – it is what we have done since March. The final report closes the door on these allegations.”

As part of the KPMG audit, the public had an opportunity to submit questions directly to the auditor. Of the 17,000-plus residents and hundreds of Pelham businesses, a total of 160 questions were submitted from 50 email addresses.

The KPMG report addressed the questions and the themes generated therein.

With the release of the full KPMG report, Town Council says they are ready to move forward and get back to governing.

“Enough is enough, it’s time for us to move on,” said Councillor Catherine King.

Councillor Gary Accursi, who presented the motion to forgo an additional meeting, says that the Town has done everything possible to address the myriad of allegations.

“We brought in the experts who advised us as we moved through the myriad of legislation,” he said. “Pelham has taken unprecedented steps for a municipality in our effort to be open and transparent. It is time to move forward with the governance of this municipality.”

The full KPMG report, including a forensic review of Town finances from 2008-2017, and the presentations from Nov. 29, can be found on the Town’s website.

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For more information, please contact:
Marc MacDonald
PR & Marketing Specialist
905-892-2607 x309
mmacdonald@pelham.ca