Minutes

Audit Committee

The Corporation of the City of Brampton

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Council Chambers - 4th Floor, City Hall - Webex Electronic Meeting
Members Present:
  • Regional Councillor M. Medeiros
  • Regional Councillor R. Santos
  • Regional Councillor M. Palleschi
  • City Councillor J. Bowman
  • City Councillor D. Whillans
  • City Councillor H. Singh
  • Iqbal Ali,
Members Absent:
  • Regional Councillor G. Dhillon
  • Rishi Jain
  • Abid Zaman
Staff Present:
  • David Barrick, Chief Administrative Officer
  • Michael Davidson, Commissioner, Corporate Support Services
  • Gurpreet Singh, Acting Director, Internal Audit
  • Sameer Akhtar, City Solicitor
  • Peter Fay, City Clerk, Legislative Services
  • Charlotte Gravlev, Deputy City Clerk, Legislative Services
  • Sonya Pacheco, Legislative Coordinator, Legislative Services

1.
Call to Order
 

Note: In consideration of the current COVID-19 public health orders prohibiting large public gatherings of people and requirements for physical distancing between persons, in-person attendance at this Audit Committee meeting was limited to Members of Council and essential City staff only. Physical distancing was maintained in Council Chambers at all times during the meeting.

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. and adjourned at 10:04 a.m.

As this meeting of the Audit Committee was conducted with electronic participation by the Members, the meeting started with the City Clerk calling the roll for attendance at the meeting, as follows:

Members present during roll call: Councillor Medeiros, Councillor Santos, Councillor Whillans, Councillor Bowman, Councillor Singh, Iqbal Ali,

Members absent during roll call: Councillor Palleschi (personal), Councillor Dhillon (personal), Rishi Jain, Abid Zaman

Note: Councillor Palleschi arrived at 9:36 a.m. (personal)

Other Council Members present: Councillor Fortini, Councillor Vicente

2.
Approval of Agenda
 

The following motion was considered.

  • AU021-2021

    That the agenda for the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be approved as published and circulated.

    Carried

3.
Declarations of Interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act
 

Nil

4.
Consent
 

In keeping with Council Resolution C019-2021, the Meeting Chair reviewed the relevant agenda items during this section of the meeting and allowed Members to identify agenda items for debate and consideration, with the balance to be approved as part of the Consent Motion given the items are generally deemed to be routine and non-controversial.

The following items listed with a caret (^) were considered to be routine and non-controversial by the Committee and were approved at one time.

6.4, 6.5, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5

The following motion was considered.

  • AU022-2021

    That the following items to the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be approved as part of Consent:

    6.4, 6.5, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5

    Yea (7): Regional Councillor Santos, City Councillor Whillans, Regional Councillor Palleschi, Regional Councillor Medeiros, City Councillor Bowman, City Councillor Singh, Iqbal Ali

    Absent (3): Regional Councillor Dhillon, Rishi Jain, Abid Zaman

    Carried (7 to 0)


5.
Presentations\Delegations
 

Nil

6.
Reports - Internal Audit
 

6.1
Staff Report re: Corporate Fraud Prevention Hotline Update –Q2 2021
This item has attachments. 

1.Corporate Fraud Prevention Hotline Update –Q2 2021.pdf

Committee discussion on this matter included the following:

  • 25 new reports received through the Fraud Hotline from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021, some of which relate to improper hiring practices
  • Questions regarding the outcome of the Q1 reports relating to hiring practices, and information from staff that these complaints were referred to a third party independent agency for investigation and the results are pending
    • It was noted that new reports related to this matter are on hold pending the results of the investigation to avoid duplication of work
    • Information was requested regarding the timelines for the investigation
  • Indication that there is consistency among the complaints relating to improper hiring practices
  • Anonymity of the hotline and the inability to determine if multiple complaints were submitted by one individual
  • History of complaints and investigations related to improper hiring practices
  • Clarification regarding the "Harm to People" report category
  • Unavailability of Human Resources staff to respond to questions from Committee, and a request that an update on the third party investigation be provided at a future meeting

The following motion was considered.

  • AU023-2021

    That the report titled: Corporate Fraud Prevention Hotline Update- Q2 2021, to the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be received.

    Carried

6.2
Staff Report re: Fraud Hotline Expansion to Brampton Residents
This item has attachments. 

1.Fraud Hotline Expansion to Brampton Residents.pdf
2.Appendix 1- Cost Options for the Fraud Hotline.pdf
3.Appendix 2- Corporate Fraud Prevention Policy GOV-110.pdf
4.Appendix 3- Fraud Investigation and Reporting SOP.pdf

Committee discussion on this matter included the following:

  • Costs associated with expanding the fraud hotline to the public, including additional staff resources
  • Concerns regarding the potential volume of complaints from the public to the hotline, and a request that staff benchmark other municipalities and provide this information prior to budget deliberations
  • Request that staff identify the number of calls received through 311 that may be more appropriately reported through the fraud hotline, and that this information be provided prior to budget deliberations

The following motion was considered.

  • AU024-2021

    That the report titled: Fraud Hotline Expansion to Brampton Residents, to the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be received.

    Carried

6.3
Staff Report re: Status of Management Action Plans (MAP) – June 30, 2021
This item has attachments. 

1.Status of Management Action Plans (MAP) – June 30, 2021.pdf
2.Appendix 1- Q2 2021 MAP.pdf
3.Appendix 2- Q2 2021 MAP.pdf

M. Davidson, Commissioner, Corporate Support Services, responded to questions from Committee regarding the status of the "HR Benefits (Phase 1)" audit report, outlined in Appendix 1 of the subject report. He advised that projects are ongoing but delayed due to staff shortages. Mr. Davidson advised that manual processes remain in effect.

The following motion was considered.

  • AU025-2021

    That the report titled: Status of Management Actions Plans (MAP) – June 30, 2021, to the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be received.

    Carried

6.4
^ Staff Report re: Status Update on Internal Audit’s Referred Matters
This item has attachments. 

1.Status Update on Internal Audit’s Referred Matters .pdf
  • AU026-2021

    That the report titled: Status Update on Internal Audit’s Referred Matters, to the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be received.

    Carried

6.5
^ Staff Report re: Corporate Governance Audit Report
This item has attachments. 

1.Corporate Governance Audit Report.pdf
2.Corporate Governance Audit- Appendix 1 (Audit Report).pdf
3.Corporate Governance Audit - Appendix 2 (Criteria for Evaluating Audit Findings).pdf
4.Corporate Governance Audit - Appendix 3 (Criteria for Audit Report Rating).pdf
  • AU027-2021

    That the report titled: Corporate Governance Audit Report, to the Audit Committee Meeting of September 28, 2021, be received.

    Carried

7.
Reports - Finance
 

Nil

8.
Other/New Business
 

Nil

9.
Question Period
 

Nil

10.
Public Question Period
 

The public was given the opportunity to submit questions via e-mail to the City Clerk’s Office regarding any decisions made during the meeting. P. Fay, City Clerk, confirmed that no questions were submitted regarding decisions made at this meeting.

11.
Closed Session
 

Items 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5 were approved under Consent, and as such, Committee did not proceed into Closed Session to consider these items.

11.1. Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (a) of the Municipal Act, 2001:        

The security of the property of the municipality or local board.

11.2. Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (a) of the Municipal Act, 2001:        

The security of the property of the municipality or local board.

11.3. Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (a) of the Municipal Act, 2001:        

The security of the property of the municipality or local board.

11.4. Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (f) and (k) of the Municipal Act, 2001:   

Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose; and, a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

11.5. Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (d) and (f) of the Municipal Act, 2001:   

Labour relations or employee negotiations; and, advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.

11.1
Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (a) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
 

11.2
Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (a) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
 

11.3
Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (a) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
 

11.4
Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (f) and (k) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
 

11.5
Open Meeting exception under Section 239 (2) (d) and (f) of the Municipal Act, 2001:
 

12.
Adjournment
 

The following motion was considered.

  • AU028-2021

    That the Audit Committee do now adjourn to meet again on Wednesday, December 7, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. or at the call of the Chair.

    Carried
No Item Selected