WATCH ABOVE: City staff assured the audit committee at City Hall mistakes made to the photo radar program won’t happen again. Eric Szeto has more.
EDMONTON — City staff says there are new accountability measures in place to help prevent problems like what happened when the city took over the photo radar program.
In a committee meeting Wednesday, staff talked about how there’s more of an effort underway to increase transparency when problems arise.
The discussion comes after a city auditor report found the photo radar program cost the city tens of millions of dollars more than originally expected. To make matters worse, city staff did not immediately notify city council.
“We’ve learned from this that the only thing worse than bad news is hearing about it after the fact, right? I think we discussed that extensively,” said Mayor Don Iveson.
When the City of Edmonton took over the photo radar program in 2007 it was expected to cost about $2.3 million to operate, but that number has climbed over the years. To date, the city has spent $66 million to operate the photo radar program.
READ MORE: ‘I think people have every right to be outraged’: Edmonton city councillor on photo radar costs
During Wednesday’s meeting, staff also said a number of those responsible for the implementation of the program are no longer employed with the city.
“As time changes with any system or procedure, it evolves. I think generally society is looking at more transparency so I think some of the expectations around that include the internal operations of an organization, including the city,” said Gord Cebryk, branch manager of Transportation Operations with the City of Edmonton.
According to the city, there are fewer injuries on the roads now, but the number of speeding infractions continues to rise.
The city says the cost of program has dropped significantly. Revenue from the program will go towards funding dozens of new police officers in the city next year.
With files from Eric Szeto, Global News.
Comments