Residents are calling for more accountability and oversight of Brampton’s nearly $1.4 billion budget, nearly a decade after city council rejected calls for an independent Auditor General.

In 2017, an Ombudsman of Ontario report recommended that the city hire a permanent auditor general, and implied a secret bonus program had taken place among senior staff for five years, with some $1.25 million paid out to staff in supposed unmonitored bonuses.

Peel Regional Police were called in to investigate, and found that no criminal offences were committed by City of Brampton employees.

Brampton City Council voted down a motion from then-Mayor Linda Jeffery in December 2017 to hire an Auditor General, with Jeffery calling the decision a rejection of accountability, openness and transparency by city councillors.

Current Wards 2 and 6 City and Regional Coun. Michael Palleschi voted to remove part of a report recommending Brampton hire a permanent Auditor General, while Wards 3 and 4 City and Regional Coun. Martin Medeiros was absent.

But local residents are now renewing the call for the city to contract an independent auditor to “protect taxpayers’ money and restore public trust” with a new online petition.

“Brampton spends more than $1.4 billion a year. That is taxpayers’ money, and residents deserve to know it is spent fairly, legally and wisely. Right now, they can’t be sure,” the petition started on Change.org reads.

The petition takes aim at Brampton’s internal audit processes, which allocates resources, sets audit priorities, determines the scopes of work and communicates results. The city also has a more than $500,000 contract with KPMG LLP to perform annual audits of the city’s accounts, transactions and local boards.

“Brampton’s audit function reports to the City’s own administration, not independently to the public. That is the structural conflict an independent Auditor General is designed to remove,” the petition states.

“An Auditor General isn’t about blame. It’s about good governance, ethics and public trust.”

The petition is calling on the newly-elected Brampton City Council to appoint an independent Auditor General before the end of the year. It also demands “stronger municipal oversight” on behalf of the province.

Over 800 people have signed the online petition as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Back in 2017, Brampton City Council unanimously approved a motion for Peel Regional Police to investigate the alleged $1.25 million slush fund granted to non-union employees between Jan. 1, 2009 and May 14, 2014. The police report has found that there was no criminal activity and that the reported $1.25 million in salary expenses was inaccurate.


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