Is there trouble brewing at Edmonton City Hall?
Post Media columnist David Staples reports the Alberta Government is ready to ‘stabilize the city and audit the finances and corporate culture’. CityNews has not been able to confirm these claims.
Premier Danielle Smith — while not confirming or denying the allegations Wednesday — does acknowledge Edmonton is facing financial challenges and the province is willing- and ready- to help.
“Look, it’s a big step if you try to intervene in any council’s decision-making, let alone a city as large and important as our capital city, and we would not take that decision lightly, and we would want them to be very specific on whether they think we can help and how they want us to help,” said Smith.
“We do stand by, ready to assist if they would like to ask us for assistance.”
In a statement from Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, he says “It was clear from the Premier’s comments today that there are no inspections or audits planned for the City of Edmonton. It is unfortunate that the information being reported by some media outlets was based on speculation and not fact.”
Adding, “The City of Edmonton is in compliance with our guiding legislation in all aspects of our operation, including with our financial policies, which are well within the legislated limits. We have a collaborative working relationship with Premier Smith and Cabinet and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Edmontonians for the stable and equitable funding we need. It was clear from the Premier’s comments today that there are no inspections or audits planned for the City of Edmonton. It is unfortunate that the information being reported by some media outlets was based on speculation and not fact.”
Tim Cartmell, Edmonton City Councillor adding, “We’ve been in a challenging environment I would say, but the city is not financially insolvent. The city does have a budget, it does have a plan, it does have money to operate.”
The speculations come after Edmonton City Manager Andre Corbould announced his resignation last week, councillor Tim Cartmell says the number of high-rank officials leaving the city is a concern and something the city needs to address
“Waiting for the province to complete an audit which would take several months and would frankly probably not be particularly informative, probably wouldn’t tell us anything we don’t already know, I think it’s just a distraction,” said Cartmell.
Cartmell’s not the only councillor raising concerns around the speculation.
Erin Rutherford on social media, saying an audit would find nothing, saying “We came in a challenging time – pandemic recovery.”
