(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

A rumour circulating on social media in Kamloops suggested a highly-paid city employee might have been unfairly awarding contracts to her husband's construction company leading to an internal investigation.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is also curious about the unsubstantiated allegation. He contacted iNFOnews.ca to ask if the claim had been verified.

When asked about the rumour, chief administrative officer David Trawin said there's no internal investigation and the suggestion of wrongdoing is misinformation.

The social media post suggested Jen Fretz, the city's civic operations director, may have unfairly awarded contracts to her husband's construction company.

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"They are not factual in the least," Trawin said, adding the false claim stemmed from a former city employee.

Her husband's company, Fretz Construction, was the lowest bidder on two city contracts for a new civic works facility nearly a decade ago.

In 2006, Fretz did work for the city but she was a supervisor in the environmental services department and would not have had a hand in the bidding process.

Trawin said the city has reached out to a Facebook group where the post was made, and staff have also contacted Meta, the company that owns Facebook.

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Fretz Construction has acquired a small piece of city land since Fretz took on the role as civic operations director, but Trawin said that process would have been done through a different department without her involvement.

Fretz deferred to Trawin as the spokesperson for the city when asked to comment on the situation.

The person who posted the rumour to social media hasn't responded to a request for comment from iNFOnews.ca.

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