Greater Sudbury closes auditor general’s office

Greater Sudbury has decided to eliminate its internal auditor’s office that was established in 2009. The move will save around $500,000 a year.

Greater Sudbury no longer has an auditor general.

The city quietly closed the auditor’s office Dec. 31, laying off Auditor General Ron Foster. The decision was made during budget deliberations, the city said in a news release Tuesday, which was tittled, ‘Council modernizes audit practices while maintaining accountability.’

“City council has voted unanimously to align its internal audit structure with the majority of Ontario municipalities, resulting in the closure of the Office of the Auditor General,” the release said.

“This decision made during budget deliberations last month will save taxpayers nearly $500,000 annually. These savings were reflected in the 2026 budget and supported a reduction in the tax levy.”

The auditor general position was created in 2009 and was later made permanent. Former mayor Brian Bigger was the city’s first auditor. Bigger made headlines in 2012 in an audit that found issues in the city’s roads department.

Bigger and another auditor, Carolyn Jodouin, won the 2012 Silver Knighton Award for the audit, handed out by a North American association of auditors.

Became mayor

The award helped propel Bigger to the mayor’s office. He won the 2014 and 2018 elections, before he was defeated in 2022 by current Mayor Paul Lefebvre.

In announcing it was closing the office, the city said Sudbury “was an outlier in maintaining this office as it was one of only five municipalities in the entire province to fund such a role.”

In addition to audits, Foster’s office also handled complaints about the conduct of city staff and council through a wrongdoing hotline. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the hotline would continue.

“Financial oversight and accountability remain fully in place and a priority for council,” Lefebvre is quoted as saying in the release.

“The city will continue to be independently audited every year, as required by law, while saving taxpayers money by moving to an audit model used by most municipalities in Ontario.”

While it will no longer have an internal auditor, the city will still be subject to annual external audits, as required by the Municipal Act.

“We extend our sincere thanks to Ron Foster for his 10 years of service,” Deb McIntosh, chair of the audit committee, said in the release.

“The city has benefited from his advice and the work of his office will provide a firm foundation for our municipality moving forward.”