The City of Greater Sudbury’s Office of the Auditor General, which the 2026-27 draft budget called “vital,” has closed following a unanimous decision by city council.
The decision was made in closed session during 2026 budget deliberations last month and made public in a media release issued by the city this week.
The media release maintains that the decision will “save taxpayers nearly $500,000 annually,” but this figure represents the total amount spent on the office each year.
According to the budget document, $496,674 was earmarked for the office last year and $435,472 had been budgeted for 2026, but has since been cancelled.
In conversation with Ward 9 Coun. (and audit committee chair) Deb McIntosh and Mayor Paul Lefebvre this week, neither elected official could share the city’s net savings in closing the Office of the Auditor General with Sudbury.com.
“I imagine that we could dig down and find that information but I don’t have it at my fingertips,” McIntosh said, later adding that no municipal reports were written to aid council’s decision.
Working against the Office of the Auditor General’s annual gross expenditure would be whatever cost avoidances the office finds throughout the year. Subtracting this from the office’s annual cost would yield the net savings in closing the office.
That said, both elected officials also clarified that they want the office’s core functions to continue despite its closure.
City CAO Shari Lichterman has been asked to prepare a report for city council in February which outlines how remaining staff can absorb Office of the Auditor General functions.
For McIntosh, a key goal behind voting to approve the Office of the Auditor General closure was lowering the tax levy hike from its peak of 5.6 per cent to its final 3.9 per cent.
Lefebvre said it was unusual that Greater Sudbury had an Office of the Auditor General to begin with, since many other larger municipalities don’t have one.
“Why are we asking as a city for taxpayers to pay for this level of service when other municipalities aren’t doing that?” the mayor asked.
However, the office has done important work over the years, McIntosh said, citing efficiencies and various cost avoidances over the years.
Various audits and reports by the office since 2010 are available by clicking here, and the city’s draft 2026-27 budget notes that the office conducted six audits annually, including performance, financial compliance and IT audits, 10 investigations and managed 240 Wrongdoing Hotline complaints, among other activities.
The draft budget document also notes the office played “a vital role in promoting transparent, accountable, and value-driven municipal operations. By conducting independent audits, reviews, and investigations, the office helps council fulfill its stewardship responsibilities and ensures public funds are used effectively, efficiently and economically.”
A key Office of the Auditor General role McIntosh said she’d like to see continue in some capacity is the review of major decisions and identifying risks.
“We have to take risks,” McIntosh said. “We can’t be risk averse all the time, but we need to be educated as to what the risks are, and I think we can rely on our staff and, if necessary, external information from other professionals to be able to help us identify the risks of taking a direction.”
Lefebvre said that when it comes to public concerns about oversight, the Office of the Auditor General offered “an extra layer of oversight, and taxpayers were paying for it.”
“People want extra oversight all the time, and for some people it’s never enough, but at the end of the day council made a decision to go at the same level of accountability that other municipalities are doing,” he said.
The city will continue to be audited on an annual basis by an independent external auditor, as required by the Municipal Act.
Ron Foster served as the city’s auditor general since 2015, describing his role on LinkedIn as being “responsible for assisting council in holding itself and its administrators accountable for the adequacy of safeguards over public funds and for ensuring value-for-money within city operations.”
He had several audits lined up for 2026, including of the city’s long-term financial plan, recreation services, water services and planning services. In 2023, city council members asked him to undertake a series of zero-based budgeting reviews during subsequent years.
In this week’s media release, McIntosh thanked Foster for his service, saying, “The city has benefited from his advice, and the work of his office will provide a firm foundation for our municipality moving forward.”
Brian Bigger was Greater Sudbury’s first auditor general. He was hired in 2009 and resigned in 2014 to launch a successful campaign to become mayor. A highlight during his time as auditor was a report on the state of city roads, which included flagging $450,000 worth of recycled pavement which had gone missing and poor quality and design of municipal streets.
Although neither McIntosh nor Lefebvre could provide a net cost savings estimate in closing the Office of the Auditor General, a 2012 report by Bigger noted that during the previous audit year (July 2011 to June 2012), the Office of the Auditor General cost approximately $359,754 and provided reports with a cumulative potential savings to the city of $2.1 million, many of which ongoing and were to occur on an annual basis.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.