Quote:
Originally Posted by james t kirk
I've often said that the Americans should hire our Auditor General to go over the US Military's books.
What she would find would be staggering I am sure.
For those who don't know, the Auditor General - headed up by Sheila Fraiser is basically the independent body that ensures the government is spending money properly.
I don't believe the Americans have a similar such body.
|
Don't forget the recently appointed (2008) Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, an office created out of the Federal Accountability Act. This is another independent body that looks at government spending. It reports to parliament, but is actually an office within the Library of Parliament, and so it isn't even technically a part of the House of Commons. It was done so intentionally to remain arm's length. Page has already created a bunch of controversy be being so adamant about accountability. It's been difficult for the Tory's to do their politicking when he's out there informing the House about everything that's going on.
That said, despite these bodies being on the federal level, maybe Colorado Springs needs something like this to show the public what actual spending is going on, or to at least ensure there isn't some kind of socialist usurping going on in their dear, cheap city.
The City of Toronto has an Auditor General (spending), an Integrity Commissioner (ethics), an Ombudsman (complaints), and a Lobbyist Registrar (disclosure), all in place to tackle the city's overall accountability. Does Colorado Springs have such things?