A story originally in The Telegram has turned up on the CanWest news service across the country.It is a short piece that only discusses some of the more outdated and, consequently humorous, sections of the City of St. John's Act that are still on the books.
There's even a quote from St. John's Mayor Andy Wells, who is shown at right in the illustration, along with the Telegram's headline on the story:
The act is the bane of Mayor Andy Wells. "A lot of the content of the act is junk," Mr. Wells said.[Telegram Photo: Joe Gibbons]
One of the sections Wells thinks to be junk?
The section of the act empowering the province's auditor general to review the City's books and operations.
You have to go to the Telegram version for that:
The auditor general (currently John Noseworthy) - whose reports annually shed an embarrassing light on the provincial government - could turn his attention to city hall if he wanted.
But Wells said there is no need, because the city already has an external audit process which produces reports annually.
No need because an outside auditor - hired by city council - can do the job.
Like we haven't heard that one offered up by politicians before.
That was exactly the same excuse used by politicians who blocked the auditor general from reviewing the House of Assembly accounts during years when millions were allegedly misspent.
Maybe the residents of St. John's should be suspicious of a politician who considers independent review of public spending by an appointed, impartial official to be a problem.
In the meantime, they can give Wells a shovel and have him repair the city's crumbling infrastructure of roads, sidewalks and water and sewer works.
Like this little gem that erupted in the middle of the last municipal election:
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