Surprise debt unpleasant surprise for CA

The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority board has found out it owes “a surprise” $1.04 million dollars, chairman Marc Charron says.

Charron made the announcement at the authority’s monthly meeting Wednesday night, stating the loan, obtained in 1998, is a demand note due in 2009.

An auditing firm which had done the books that year has been called in to clarify how the funds were received and how the associated expenses were recorded in the authority’s financial statements.

“It’s still got to go through the process, it’s got to go through the auditors who are the ones who look after the financial statements,” Charron said, “but it certainly appears as if there’s a surprise million dollars in there.”

Charron said neither Bill Beckett, who had been secretary-manager of the authority at the time, nor Bob Gray, the former chairman, had been called to ask about the loan.

Beckett is out of the country and could not be reached for comment.

Gray told BayToday.ca he’s been “away” from the job for a year and had “cut all my ties” with the authority.

“I really don’t have any thoughts about this,” Gray said, “nor am I prepared to comment.”

Charron said there would be no further word on the money until after the auditors provided "some answers."

Their report is expected within the next little while.

The authority’s debt, originally believed to be $4.4 million, now climbs to $5.44 million with the discovery of the loan.

Charron said the board was searching for an agreement in relation to an authority asset it wanted to sell, but couldn't find the document withing the authority's headquarters.

The paperwork was eventually obtained from the funding agency, and when it was read, "we discovered that extra detail," Charron said, referring to the loan amount.

Dave Mendicino, city council’s representative on the board, said the $1.04 million “looks to be very first money that ever got injected right into the ski hill.”

Charron said since the loan hadn't been entered in the books
as a long-term debt, it wouldn't have been picked up in subsequent years as a recurring item.