In a rise and report following a closed session during this week’s Town of Greater Napanee council meeting, it was announced council had received the KPMG report and it would be made available to the public.
The following day The Town of Greater Napanee released the Review of the Property Sales Process regarding Specific Properties Final Summary Report from KPMG Forensic Inc (KPMG) on the review of the Town’s property sales process regarding the land sale of three specific properties:
- 313 Belleville Road
- 32 Oke Road
- Heritage Park (401 Angila Street)
KPMG performed a review of these three surplus properties sold between January 2010 – October 2020 and submitted a ‘Prior Report’ to Town Council on January 26, 2021. The ‘Final Report’ submitted to Council on Monday, July 26, 2021 has obtained additional factual information in order to better understand the circumstances that may have led to the control breakdowns relating to each of the three investigated property transactions. Over the course of KPMG’s assessment, the firm reviewed selected individuals’ email records and conducted six interviews with selected individuals that have knowledge of the property sales.
In concluding the investigation, KPMG has stated that its key findings are as follows:
- [KPMG] did not find evidence to suggest any conflict of interest or any improper conduct or activity;
- All interviewed personnel believe the land sale process was conducted in an arm’s length manner for all three reviewed properties;
- Factors leading to non-compliance with the Land Sale By-law include:
- Insufficient oversight and governance over the land sale process;
- Ambiguity in the by-law in terms of roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc.;
- Insufficient checks and balances in the by-law leading to lack of accountability and ownership of tasks;
- Training should be provided to new staff and Council as part of onboarding, and refresher training provided to existing staff on key by-laws.
The Town recognizes that its property sale process for land sales is not a perfect system and there is room for improvement. The Town will strongly take into consideration the following recommendations provided by KPMG to rectify its land sale procedures:
- A procedural document and checklist will be created that supports the details of the surplus by-law;
- The Town’s by-law shall be updated to reflect the recommendations made in KPMG’s ‘Final Report’ and other recommendations as Town staff deem appropriate;
- Town staff recognized that there were deficiencies in its property sale processes, and as recommended in KPMG’s report, the Town used the services of a real estate agent in the successful sale of Heritage Park in 2019 and the Old Library Building in 2020;
- A clear direction will be provided as to the use of funds following the sale that is aligned with the Town’s strategic priorities.
The complete KPMG Review of the Property Sales Process – Specific Properties Final Summary Report, which includes a detailed analysis of all three property sales, is available to the public via the ‘News & Notices’ page of the Town’s website. Members of the public wishing to obtain a hard copy report can request the document from the Town by filling out the online “KPMG Final Summary Report Request Form” available on the ‘News & Notices’ page of the Town website.
Public comments or feedback upon reading the report can be directed to Community Engagement Clerk Brianna Clement at bclement@greaternapanee.com or by calling 613-354-3351 ext. 2030.
