City auditor flags management of ByWard, Parkdale markets

Ottawa's auditor general has uncovered problems with the management of the two city-run markets, but found little else to complain about when he tabled his 2016 audit reports at City Hall Thursday.

Ken Hughes's audit team found managers in charge of theParkdale and ByWardmarkets haven't been trackingcash transactions and lease agreements as well as they should.

Norwere they following their own business cases to promote the markets at a time when sales are declining, and have been for five years, the auditor general found.

But the manager who's been overseeing a governance review of the markets blamed the decline on increasing competition.

"The reality is there are 12 markets now in Ottawa where there used to be two," said Court Curry.

"The vending revenues have certainly decreased as the [ByWard]market is seen as more of a nighttime destination. That is why council gave us direction to take action on establishing a new organization to oversee the ByWardMarket."

That report to overhaul the governance, mandate and vision for both markets will be presented to councillors in February, said Curry.

'We didn't have a Phoenix. We didn't have a SAMS'

Elsewhere, Hughes found the city did a good job installing automated water meters, which have helped the city locate and fix potentially costly leaks.

The auditoralso noted the city's 311 information service for residentsand an online ServiceOttawa improvementcame in under their $79-million budget during a five-year implementation phase.

The auditornoted that while the service improvements led to the elimination of 283 full-time positions, most were vacant anyway.

City manager Steve Kanellakos took the opportunity to point out that the two major technology projects were implemented without serious glitches, as other levels of government have experienced.

"We didn't have a Phoenix. We didn't have a SAMS," Kanellakossaid, referring the federal government's troubled payroll system and Ontario's social services payment system.

OC Transpogiven 'gold star' for transition

Hughes' team also looked at how well OCTranspois planning the transition from buses to light rail, but had no complaintsand didn't identify any risks or gaps requiring attention.

Although trains were delivered late, and the construction of a new maintenance facility and control room is behind schedule, the audit team felt OC Transpo could catch up.

Coun. Allan Hubley, who chairs audit committee, commended OC Transpo's management for its "gold star" performance.

But that audit did not delve into the construction of the light rail system, something Coun.Diane Deans has been pushing for.

Last year Deans asked for an audit of the first phase of theproject to identify cost overruns before moving on to the second phase. Similarly, Coun. Rick Chiarelliwanted a better understanding of what the city's spent on land for the transit project.

Next year's audits will look at the city's parks and recreation department, the social housing registry, and how the city's roads branch manages contracts.