There are requires an investigation into the usage of restaurant reward playing cards by the Metropolis of Richmond.
Paperwork obtained by World Information by means of the liberty of knowledge requests point out about $498,000 was spent on the playing cards over three years. Minus attainable duplicates, it’s about $445,000.
Richmond had beforehand indicated that reward playing cards value taxpayers $32,800 in 2022, $71,550 in and $71,300 in 2024. The FOI outcomes point out a lot bigger numbers. $156,000 in 2022, $218,000 in 2023 and $124,000 in 2024.
“There must be a full investigation into how this occurred and one of the best ways to try this is for the provincial authorities to reappoint the auditor basic for native authorities so there’s a watchdog standing by to research boondoggles like this,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation B.C. director Carson Binda stated.
On Thursday BC’s former auditor basic for native authorities, Gordon Ruth, weighed in on the questionable program.
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“These are the sorts of issues that might truly fall beneath the mandate of an auditor basic,” he stated. “Native governments in British Columbia now not have that additional stage of transparency.”
Richmond claims most playing cards have been for worker service awards, retirement or volunteer recognition.
However one worker, who we agreed to not determine, advised us many have been stored in a bowl.
Others have been allegedly handed out for no explicit cause.
“Why are we getting these?” he advised World Information. “We’re very nicely paid to do our jobs and we’re not a personal group so these are all tax {dollars}.”
The worker additionally stated that with the intention to obtain reward playing cards, some workers needed to carry out and that nothing was written all the way down to account for a way they have been distributed.
The town responded that “a number of data exist for a similar transaction. Because of this, we now have been unable to confirm your numbers.”
The numbers contained within the FOI got here from Richmond.
“It’s particularly unacceptable if you’re elevating taxes on the similar time,” Binda stated.
“Metropolis of Richmond owners are being hit with a 6 % tax hike in 2025.”
Richmond says that now the reward playing cards are “solely permitted for lengthy service retirement and volunteer service.”
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie has declined to remark.
© 2025 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
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