The process by which Westlock County seems to have approved and presented its 2014 budgets last month is more than a little bit of a concern.
There has been a significant amount of staff turnover at the county since budget deliberations began last fall, including the loss of the chief bureaucrat and several department heads.
That has understandably complicated things, and goes a long way toward explaining why the budgets and mill rate weren’t finalized until May 27 — as compared to 2013 and 2012, when council approved budgets and tax bylaws in January.
But while a little bit of leeway on that front could be reasonable, delay is by no means the biggest concern. It’s hard to say, however, what is the biggest concern because there are two strong contenders.
First, the fact the county appears to have breached the Municipal Government Act by passing its mill rate before council passed the budget is obviously a big concern. Quite simply, residents of Westlock County should be able to count on their councillors and county staff to proceed in accordance with the act, extenuating circumstances or not.
Reeve Bud Massey says he was not aware the county was potentially in breach, while interim CAO Rick McDonald says he knew but he has attempted to minimize the significance of the contravention.
That suggests a lack of communication between council and administration, and it doesn’t take someone with a Ph.D. in political science to see this could be a result of a deeper dysfunction that could rear its ugly head down the road.
Second, while residents and ratepayers should be pleased to know council is looking for efficiencies and be more responsible with public money, they should also be able to know precisely what’s changed.
There have been significant decreases in funding to several departments to fund the increased emphasis on transportation services, but we’re told the detailed line-item budget won’t be made public.
Not surprisingly, the justification is the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act — an act that seems to put a much higher emphasis on the latter than the former.
When it comes to public money, secrecy begets suspicion. If council and administration have nothing to hide, let’s see the numbers.
