(DARREN RATHWELL / iNFOnews.ca)

Thompson Nicola Regional District board of directors agreed to issue a formal apology due to a spending scandal that has plagued the district for months.

Directors were nearly all in favour of issuing the apology, which will be directed to the public, and both current and former staff.

Director, and Mayor of Clearwater, Merlin Blackwell tabled the motion to issue an apology at the regional district board meeting today, March 10.

READ MORE: B.C. to ease COVID-19 restrictions on masks, long-term care visits, vaccine cards

The motion acknowledges a lack of accountability and oversight at the regional district, and that the board is meant to monitor the actions of its only real employee, the chief administrative officer.

While not specific in the motion, it refers to former chief administrative officer Sukh Gill, who was found to have harboured a culture of inappropriate spending and bullying at the regional district, according to a recently published forensic audit report.

The long-awaited report summarized thousands of dollars of non-itemized spending, while also raising concerns regarding conflicts of interest and favoured vendors under Gill's leadership.

He worked at the regional district for 20 years. First as the chief financial officer for 12 years before he was promoted to the top spot in 2011. His mysterious departure in 2020 required the regional district to announce it as a retirement, but it came after a whistleblower letter detailed concerns about his conduct, including his spending habits, according to the forensic audit report.

READ MORE: Kelowna RCMP officer charged with obstructing justice

Blackwell told iNFOnews.ca that while the regional district has made changes and addressed the spending scandal, its also cost taxpayers somewhere in the range of $1 million since Gill's spending came to light. He also believes that its time for the board to look to the public and its staff so it can apologize publicly.

Blackwell noted that while he raised it at the previous board meeting, the motion was revised so the regional district would not be put in legal jeopardy.

Most of the 26 directors were in favour of the motion, noting that while not an admission of guilt by the board, it acknowledges its continued effort to regain public trust.

"Whether we're aware or not aware of certain things, it doesn't matter. It's the right thing to do because, to some degree, we're all in this together," director Steven Rice said of the apology.

He wasn't alone in his reasoning.

READ MORE: Penticton home destroyed by explosion, fire built century ago to signal new age of prosperity

Several other directors raised their support to apologize to the public and regional district staff for a lack of oversight from the board.

"Is it going to change anything? No, it won't," director Mike O'Reilly said. "But it is the right thing to do, and it's what the residents of the (regional district) deserve."

Other directors, both supportive and opposed to the motion, stated the current board was not complicit in spending habits, but that its failures stemmed from previous boards or the staff. Director Mel Rothenburger, however, disagreed.

"I think it's important to remember that the board has been part of this situation," Rothenburger said. "This board has a long record of being generous to itself, and the board has been involved in the expenses which probably could have been handled in a tighter fashion."

Blackwell's motion addresses this by stating both the former and current board members had "a responsibility to protect and serve its citizens... and maintain their trust in our governance and any violation of that trust ultimately rests with the board."

Directors Ronaye Elliott, Carol Schaffer and Santo Tallarico opposed the motion.

"We as the board of directors were not made aware of previous misgivings until it was brought to the board," Schaffer said. "An apology engages the board in the problem and links us directly to being part of the problem... It will present a picture that we were complicit with the actions for years, when we were truly unaware."

Since the regional district began to address previous spending habits, it has implemented new policies like increasing oversight on spending by both staff and elected officials and a method to protect future whistleblowers.

At least three directors have also called for current board chair Ken Gillis to step down as leader of the board, stating he should have brought the January 2020 whistleblower letter to the board much sooner than he had.

On March 11, the regional district issued its formal apology to the public, which reads:

“The TNRD Board of Directors would like to formally apologize to all residents of the TNRD, as well as past and current employees of the TNRD, for a previous lack of accountability and Board oversight of TNRD leadership, policies and practices.

“The Board has taken a number of steps to address these past issues. The Board is fully committed to earning back the trust of its citizens going forward, through stronger oversight, good governance and ethical leadership.”

— This story was updated at 10:23 a.m., March 11, 2022, to include the formal apology statement issued by the Thompson Nicola Regional District.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022