– Mayor
City Mayor Hamilton Green said yesterday the discovery of a fresh fraud at City Council must be investigated in full to weed out corrupt officers.
Saying that the city has been mismanaged for sometime, Green pointed to what he described as limited authority within the scope of his office and that of the councillors to deal with officers, “condignly”.
Speaking at a press briefing at City Hall, he offered the council’s support for the Commission of Inquiry being conducted into the state of affairs in the City Treasurer’s and Town Clerk’s departments at City Hall by commissioner, Keith Burrowes.
Green said too that he personally contacted Burrowes following this recent discovery and expressed his full support for the authorities being called in. He said further the perception out there is that the council is culpable and that, “the buck should stop with the mayor specifically”.
Recently the commission of inquiry led solely by Burrowes discovered discrepancies in a substantial transaction at the City Council. There are reports that receipts books have also been found with missing pages.
The Burrowes inquiry, which was initiated last year, was also commissioned to pronounce on any culpability of the Town Clerk and City Treasurer and to make recommendations to the minister. It was set up after a report was submitted to the M&CC by the Auditor General (AG).
The report revealed serious breaches in regulations and protocol by the administration of the municipality, particularly within the City Treasurer’s Department. It had examined several areas: wages and salaries, for which records were not being properly maintained; officers being given payment in lieu of leave without proper authority or approval; advances and loans to officers; bank reconciliation statements; assessment and collection of rates and taxes and information systems costs.
