I attended the Council meeting a few months ago where the issue of the town’s financial situation first came up. There was much yelling, many accusations, and very little clarity. The Sternthal slate was claiming that the town is in a horrible financial state with excessive borrowing which can not be repaid. The Mayor argued that the town is in great shape. Both parties pointed to the same financials and came away with the opposite conclusion. I read the Town’s financials in an effort to become informed. Despite my background in Finance the financials left me confused. I then called the external auditor who prepared the financials in order to seek clarification. Her answer was clear and unambiguous. She told me that the Provincial Government requires that Municipal Financial Statements be prepared in a very specific way. She went on to say that if one is not familiar with Municipal accounting that they are very difficult to understand. I asked her to explain to me in plain language the state of the town. To this she replied that Hampstead is in excellent financial shape. She explained that we are producing a cash surplus and that our debt load is very low. To this she added that if our debt load were any lower it would be unfair to current residents. The logic being that a road that is built and will last for 20 years should not be paid for by people today who may no longer be here in 10 years. The road (or sewer or truck) that will be used for the next decade should be paid for by the users of that road over the next decade.
Having had the financials explained to me by the external auditor I then asked the Mayoral candidates to invite the auditor to the next Public Council meeting to present her findings in a Public forum and to allow experts to question her regarding her findings. This would give the people of Hampstead a clear, fact based discussion on which to base their opinions.
The result was no invitation by either group. The next Public meeting, rather than being an informed discussion of the facts degenerated in to a screaming match which I considered undignified and an insult to its citizens.
Following the last screaming match I asked the town’s treasurer what he thought of the financial argument. Charles Ohayon concurred with what the auditor told me. He showed me how the financials can seem quite different as a result of municipal accounting standards required by the Provincial Government. Asked if he had explained this to the Sternthal slate, he responded that not one of them, including two sitting councilors ever asked him for clarification.
In my view, I would have liked to have heard from the auditor and allowed her to be questioned by the Sternthal slate as well as anybody else who has an interest.
In order for the Sternthal slate to be correct in their assessment of our financial situation both the town treasurer and the external auditor must be in collusion to defraud the town. I find this very unlikely.
What to do next:
Given that nobody took me up on having the auditor present her findings I will as a member of council push for a Public explanation by the town’s auditors of the financials. I will invite all concerned citizens, expert or otherwise to question her findings. We will be transparent and clear. It is important that justice be done, and equally important that it be seen to be done.
I commend you on your article dealing with Hampstead’s public finances. It is clear and concise, and I agree with you. There is no reason to believe that there has been a fraud or collusion.”
Lorne Gold, Independent candidate for seat #1
I strongly believe that a group that is involved with a decision will be committed to its implementation. People who live around local parks should be asked how they would like them improved. People who are worried about crime should be invited to sit on the security committee. People who have an interest and skills in Public works should sit on a Public works committee. People with legal, accounting, managerial or IT skills can be invaluable to the town.
I have worked with the City of Cote St Luc to see if there is a way for us to outsource our Garbage collection. Across the city the cost of Garbage collection has gone up two fold. Cote St Luc is the only Municipality on the Island that has taken the step to bring the service in-house. They have bought their own trucks and use their blue collar staff to run the operation. The result is more control and much lower costs. I have also been in discussion with Cote St Luc to be able to outsource our compost to them. It is likely that we will be able to work out an agreement with CSL that would at least cover our institutions, such as synagogues that produce much waste due to catered events.
I think that a closer collaboration with Cote St Luc would only serve to benefit both of our cities.