Auditor-General for Local Government Report - City of Williams Lake

This afternoon - the Auditor-General for Local Government (AGLG), Gordon Ruth, publicly released their Performance Audit on the City of Williams Lake

The Performance Audit was entitled Local Government Performance in Managing Policing Agreements and Police Budget Oversight

The 6 recommendations from the AGLG as a result of the Performance Audit was:

1. The City of Williams Lake should take steps to increase the understanding of municipal staff and Council regarding the 2012 MPUA and the authorities it provides them.

2. The City of Williams Lake should further enhance its oversight of policing services by:

•Clearly defining and documenting the roles and responsibilities of key players with regard to policing;
•Considering the creation of a Council committee or similar structure to review policing-related budgets, costs and outcomes related to the RCMP contract; and,
•Developing a set of protocols governing the type and frequency of meetings that deal with policing-related issues.


3. The City of Williams Lake should develop mechanisms to ensure community input on policing priorities.

4. The City of Williams Lake should enhance the performance measurement processes it uses to plan, monitor and report on policing priorities.

5. The City of Williams Lake should request that the RCMP use the Police Resourcing Model to substantiate the authorized strength that has been assigned to Williams Lake.

6. The City of Williams Lake should strengthen its management of policing costs by:

• Improving its documentation of financial discussions on policing expenditures;
• Considering the establishment of a police reserve fund; and,
• Working with the Detachment to gain a better understanding of the cost drivers related to overtime and civilian support services and explore cost containment opportunities.

Read the full Report here