Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleSaskatoon city councillors will be asked to approve a “reallocation” of $21.6 million from future infrastructure project savings, after council mistakenly approved money for a pipeline upgrade that was not actually available, 980 CJME reports.
The error was not caught until nearly nine months after the approval.
What went wrong
The upgrade involves larger pipelines along Wanuskewin Road, installed in recent months as part of the biosolids pipeline corridor project. A report going to the city’s Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services committee on Nov. 3 explains the mix-up.
According to the report, Saskatoon received $23,246,600 several years ago from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. That money was held as a contingency and was used to offset COVID-19 financial pressures in 2022 and 2023.
On Jan. 28 this year, councillors were asked to approve funding for the higher-volume water and sewage pipes. The roughly $23 million was no longer there, but councillors were not aware of it.
Councillor wants answers
Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer says he has many questions for the city’s project management and finance teams. He asked how it happened, what went wrong and what is being done to make sure it does not happen again.
Donauer said the overall biosolids pipeline project always had funding, but the decision to install larger pipes did not. He said the city and its regional partners chose to upsize the pipes so that an investment hub north of town could someday accommodate more industries.
“They did try and basically allocate the same money twice,” Donauer said. He added that it is a lot of money and that he has serious questions about how it was allowed to happen.
City’s explanation and proposed fix
980 CJME’s sister station, 650 CKOM, requested an interview with Clae Hack, the city’s chief financial officer. A statement was provided instead.
Hack wrote that the error was the result of human error. She said staff vacancies, the urgent nature of the report and the complexity of the city’s government funding and reallocation program contributed to the problem not being identified during report review.
On why it took so many months to find the mistake, Hack said it was caught through the city’s annual capital status review, in which all open capital projects are reviewed. Corrective action is now being taken through the public report going to the committee.
The report says administration has identified a need for better documentation and procedures on historical funding reallocations. It also says enhanced tracking and secondary review processes will be introduced for significant adjustments to reserve and capital project funding.
Administration recommends that the money for the pipeline expansion now come from savings slated for wastewater infrastructure projects in 2028 and 2029.
Source: 980 CJME
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