Coquitlam Mounties launched an investigation last spring of a Port Coquitlam city employee who stole approximately $175,000 of taxypayer dollars.
The Tri-City News exclusively learned that the person, who has not been identified, purchased tools with city-issued credit cards through the city’s purchasing system over a three-year period. The items were then resold for personal gain. All of the money was eventually returned to the city and the employee resigned their position.
John Leeburn, PoCo’s chief administrative officer, said he had learned of the incident in February when another employee informed him that the thefts were taking place.
However, police were not immediately notified and an RCMP investigation was only launched after council voted to inform police about the matter in May, a month after the incident was uncovered. Leeburn said the city was informed by labour lawyers that they would have an easier time recovering the funds if the police were not immediately involved.
Asked about the incident at the time, Mayor Greg Moore said the decision to involve the RCMP was a struggle for council members.
“There’s definitely pros and cons to it,” he said. “Council doesn’t know who the person is but you get to know a little bit more about this person based on the information that’s provided and you realize, at the end of the day, there is a person on the other end of this decision.”
Since the incident, new rules have been implemented at the city to ensure that a similar situation does not occur again.
In a statement, the city said a review of the current approval process for staff with purchasing authority was being conducted and the ability for staff at any level to approve their own purchases has been eliminated. The city has also added more training for staff responsible for approving purchases and have initiated a whistleblower policy to encourage workers to report fraud or purchasing concerns.
