Cloak Not Lifted For New Councillors

http://www.alanhalberstadt.com/

EnWin Utilities management is holding an in camera orientation session for new City Councillors Wednesday morning, with the hydro portion starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Windsor Utilities Commission corporate offices at 787 Ouellette Ave., and lasting until noon.

I have learned that the meeting will be closed to the media and the public because part of what will be discussed is the EnWin strategy as it relates to submissions to the Ontario Energy Board.

This could mean that EnWin is making application to the OEB for another rate increase. If that is the case, it is strange that the meeting with the new Councillors Hilary Payne, Ed Sleiman and Al Mahgneigh is secret.

Council has regularly heard from Mayor Eddie Francis, head of the EnWin empire, that rate increases contemplated by EnWin are completely transparent, allowing objectors to dispute the need for the local hydro distributor to raise rates.

For several years now, I have been calling for EnWin to open its books to the media and the public. The appeals have fallen on deaf ears, with Fortress EnWin defenders claiming that confidentiality is required since, by Ontario statute, the hydro distributor is a private corporation.

In January, as a member of the city's audit committee, I proposed the following audit be conducted by the Auditor General’s office:

Potential audit topic:
As previously discussed I would like to submit a proposal for the Auditor General's Office to commence a value-for-money audit on our two city-owned utilities -- EnWin Canada Limited and its affiliates, as well as the Windsor Utilities Commission (WUC).

I conducted a survey of voters in Ward 4 during the recent municipal election and the number one priority of the respondents was the “End Hidden EnWin Utilities taxes. Another constant complaint from taxpayers has been the rising cost of water rates, and all the fixed fees attached to the combined EnWin-WUC bills.

In my research as a layperson and City Councillor, I have confirmed that WUC pays EnWin over $10 million a year for services provided by EnWin. KPMG has apparently determined that this is a good deal, however, the work has never been tendered, which might be a concern to any Auditor General.

A value-for-money audit could also look into the advantages of having EnWin apply to the Ontario Energy Board for non-profit status. If that occurred, there could be an opportunity for EnWin to provide the services to its WUC affiliate without tacking on a profit charge.

Another alternative, and one that might be cleaner, would be to transform WUC into an independent agency. The current model, in my mind, is broken, since WUC’s top managers answer to the president of EnWin, audit committee chair Max Zalev.

Because they double as VPs of EnWin, and EnWin is a profit corporation, the salaries of the WUC managers are not disclosed to the public, a transparency issue given the consequent exemption from the provincial Sunshine laws.

I am aware that an EnWin audit was conducted in the past by KPMG, but that audit was severely limited in scope, and it is my understanding that value-for money was not paramount in the reviews.

Since that audit, EnWin received several million dollars from the provincial government to implement the smart meter program, and ratepayers have not received an accounting on that file.

I believe it is incumbent upon EnWin to disclose how that money has been spent, how much remains and how effectively the program is being implemented. The lowering of legal and consulting fees is also high on the priority list of Windsor citizens, and I am aware that both EnWin and WUC make liberal use of these external services.

This would be another focus of a value-for-money audit.

At the meeting where my proposal was heard, Audit Committee Chairperson Max Zalev spoke against an EnWin Audit, claiming he was not in conflict of interest even though he doubles as President of EnWin.


The Committee decided not to go ahead with the audit.

Now City Council is contemplating eliminating the Auditor General function entirely, again delaying the hiring of an Auditor General in early February. The matter comes before Council again on Feb. 28 with much at stake.

The demise of the Auditor General Office would pretty well eliminate any chance that the cloak will come off the EnWin books, and terminate the arms-length, independent auditing function at Windsor City Hall.