SUNDRE – Members of the municipal council recently signed related party identification and disclosure documents as part of a regulated best practice to prevent conflicts of interest or even the appearance of such.
Chris Albert, director of corporate services, provided council with some background on the annual process during the regular Jan. 23 meeting.
“There are four key identifiers of conflict of interest,” said Albert.
Perhaps most commonly known is the conflict of interest over a decision about the public good that stands to provide a personal financial benefit either to a member of council or the municipality’s key management personnel. But there is also a non-financial benefit, also known as the perception of bias, which can be interpreted as providing advantages that are not financial in nature, he said.
Additionally, there is also the possibility of certain roles and responsibilities within an organization setting the stage for conflicts of interest “as well as the conflict of interest of predetermination, which is the appearance of bias based on making a decision prior to all the facts being known,” he said.
The best way to mitigate conflicts of interest or even the appearance of one, is through transparent procedures such as the public accounting standards municipalities are mandated to adhere to as part of auditing requirements, he said, adding the related party declaration forms are but one aspect pertaining to the broader subject of conflict of interest.
Going through the motions annually helps to ensure both council and municipal department heads remain mindful about the transactions conducted, he said, adding administration along the way also reviews a lot of the municipality’s transactions in an effort to ensure compliance is met.
Additionally, he said declared transactions are also looked at by the auditor, who in turn considers transactions involving parties identified in disclosure documents.
Following his verbal presentation, Albert distributed forms to members of council.
As a point of clarification, mayor Richard Warnock asked about the situation of his wife Lois Warnock, who both owns a local business and sits as president on the Sundre & District Chamber of Commerce board.
“Your wife is not in control of the chamber of commerce; that is made up of a membership,” said Albert.
“She does not get a benefit from the transactions that occur between the town and the chamber. So, that is not a required disclosure. It’s only entities that you or your spouse own or control,” he added.
After filing out the forms that pertained specifically to 2022, council accepted the report for information.
