Do our councillors have an adequate grasp of what’s happening at city hall?

Why then don’t councillors complain, set the bureaucrats straight and demand access to all the vital facts and figures concerning the Greater Sudbury transit ticket scandal, in which taxpayers are still out $824,000?

In 2009, 1211250 Ontario Inc., a company controlled by businessman Tony Sharma, was sued after it failed to hand over more than $866,000 in transit ticket revenue to the City of Greater Sudbury.

The city continued to renew 1211250 Ontario’s contract to operate the transit ticket terminal, even though it owed the city hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ money.

By the end of one contract, on Jan. 31, 2004, the company owed the city $143,000. When that three-year contract ended Jan. 31, 2007, the company was $334,000 in arrears.

The city and councillors still chose to extend the contract for another two years. By the end of that period, 1211250 Ontario Inc. owed the city and taxpayers $824,000.

An audit in 2011 by the city’s auditor general, Brian Bigger, revealed city staff was aware of the growing arrears in the city transit ticket kiosk contract. The city’s external auditor red-flagged the account in 2007.

Mr. Bigger came very close to losing his job. His contract was reduced from three years to one year for revealing this scandal.
Keep of the good work councillors. Hopefully people will wake up come the next election.

Paul Robert
Greater Sudbury