HALIFAX - Halifax RCMP are investigating expenses filed by Mayor Andy Filmore鈥檚 office after an audit showed four transactions worth a total of $111,000 did not comply with municipal policies.
The municipality鈥檚 auditor general, Andrew Atherton, told council鈥檚 finance committee Monday that he started the audit after concerns were raised by senior municipal managers earlier this year.
He said police were called in because he 鈥渇elt this was a little past my comfort zone.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 a professional judgment from me of where things move potentially past non-compliance into an area where I鈥檓 not qualified to say whether something is illegal or not.鈥
In response, Fillmore told the committee he had co-operated fully with the auditor general鈥檚 investigation and stressed that he and his staff have received more training on the procurement processes.
As for the transactions in question, Fillmore issued a statement Tuesday saying they were handled "during a period of significant transition" early in his term. As well, he said the expenses moved through an established administrative approval process, which included signoff from senior officials.
The committee heard that the largest expense was filed last year after the mayor鈥檚 office hired a human resources consultant to help with hiring staff, which was supposed to cost $50,000. But the final bill was $90,000.
Atherton found that the contract for that work was negotiated directly with the consultant without competitive bids through the municipality鈥檚 regular procurement process.
鈥淪taff indicated they felt the mayor鈥檚 office had a clear preference from the start for a single vendor,鈥 Atherton told the committee. As well, the auditor said he was told Halifax鈥檚 chief administrative officer had signed off on the deal, citing confidentiality.
Atherton rejected that explanation, saying the work did not involve any confidential information.聽
鈥淣one of it was anything more than what I might call typical HR work,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t is clear to my office that this contract should have followed the competitive procurement approach to ensure the best value was obtained for the money spent.鈥
Atherton, however, confirmed that the final invoice for the job, like the invoices for the other three expenses, had been properly approved and the bill was reasonable.
Still, the auditor general said the mayor鈥檚 office again failed to follow the proper procurement process last year when they spent $14,000 to hire a speech writer without inviting other bids.
鈥淭he mayor鈥檚 staff reached out directly to a vendor and asked them to help,鈥 Atherton said. 鈥淣o contract or statement of work was used to define expectations 鈥. There are specific procurement approaches designed for just this sort of situation.鈥
The final two contracts 鈥 worth more than $7,000 in total 鈥 were for external legal services that weren't approved by the regional government鈥檚 solicitor, as required by the municipality鈥檚 procurement rules.
Fillmore told the committee he had personally repaid the legal expenses and he assured council that his staff had received training on how to properly handle future procurement.
"The legal services were retained in response to Code of Conduct complaints filed against me in my capacity as mayor and related to actions taken while carrying out the responsibilities of that office," Fillmore said Tuesday in a statement. "They were not personal expenses."
In this case, the municipal solicitor approved the initial $1,400 expense as a one-time exception, and the mayor鈥檚 office was subsequently reminded about the rules.
The mayor鈥檚 staff, however, appeared to ignore those rules in November of last year when another outside law firm was hired to provide legal advice.
The finance committee was told the mayor鈥檚 chief of staff approved a payment of more than $6,000 by selecting 鈥渙ther goods and services鈥 when processing the payment through the municipality鈥檚 procurement portal.
鈥淭hese were clearly not compliant,鈥 Atherton said, referring to both legal expenses. 鈥淭hey shouldn鈥檛 have been paid.鈥
Deputy mayor Patty Cuttell said she was troubled by Atherton鈥檚 findings.
鈥淭his is much more than just a lessons-learned kind of moment,鈥 she told the committee. 鈥淭his feels much more serious 鈥. There were clear violations of procurement policies even after information was shared.鈥
But the mayor insisted the method of the second payment was an oversight.聽
He said a drop-down menu on the portal did not include an option for legal services, which is why another option was selected. But he also said the lack of a proper option should have served as a warning that the option chosen was inappropriate.
Meanwhile, Halifax RCMP confirmed Monday that their investigation started May 22 after they received a referral from the Halifax Regional Police.
Atherton said he had initially contacted the municipal police force but later learned it was concerned about a possible conflict of interest.
An RCMP spokesperson confirmed the Mounties' commercial crime section was investigating reports of financial irregularities between June 2025 and February 2026, as spelled out in the auditor general鈥檚 report.聽
This report by 国产诱惑福利 was first published June 23, 2026.
