Election Compliance Audit Committee
On September 27, 2010, Council appointed a Compliance Audit Committee for the Town of Amherstburg regarding campaign finances for the 2010 Municipal Election.
The amendments to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 contained in Bill 212 (Good Government Act, 2009) made changes to Section 81 and introduced a new section 81.1 to make an Election Compliance Audit Committee mandatory for all municipalities and local boards.
Under the amended Section 81.1 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, an elector who is entitled to vote and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act regarding campaign finances, may apply for an election compliance audit.
Mandate - The mandate of the Committee is to hear and determine all applications filed in accordance with section 81 of the MEA in accordance with provisions of the MEA.
The powers and functions of the Committee are set out in subsection 81(3), (4), (7), (10) and (11) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. The Committee will be required to:
c) Receive the auditor’s report;
d) Consider the auditor’s report and decide whether legal proceedings should be commenced; and
e) Recover the costs of conducting the audit from the applicant if there were no apparent contraventions and if there appears to be no reasonable grounds for having made the application.
Membership - The Committee shall be appointed by Council and shall be composed three (3) members with membership drawn from the following stakeholder groups:
a) Accounting and audit; accountants or auditors with experience in preparing or auditing the financial statements of municipal candidates
b) Academic; college or university professors with expertise in political science or local government administration;
c) Legal; and
d) Other individuals with knowledge of the campaign financing rules of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996
(a) Employees or officers of the municipality or local board;
(b) Members of the council or local board; or
(c) Any persons who are candidates in the election for which the committee is established.
Meetings -The Election Audit Committee will meet as needed with meetings to be scheduled when a compliance audit application is received.
Application for a Compliance Audit – For information on how to file an application to the Committee for an audit or for general information on the application process, kindly contact Staff Representative: Brenda M. Percy, Clerk (519) 736-0012 x 254.
Next scheduled meeting – February 29, 2012 @ 6:00 p.m. at Town Hall Council Chambers.
Agenda - June 30, 2011