Anyone expecting any bombshell revelations from KPMG Forensic Inc.’s deep dive into Greater Napanee’s sale three properties of note was left disappointed.
Over a year of anticipation and speculation later, the final report delivered on July 26 contained no smoking gun. No criminal mastermind unveiled. No shocking confession.
Despite the lack of a climatic ending, that doesn’t necessarily mean the whole exercise was a waste of time or money.
Truth be told the ‘deep dive’ was never about retribution. Its main purpose was to take a good long look at the town’s property sales process and suggest ways to improve it. If a better policy can be developed as a result of the findings, it’ll be money well spent. Both the town and future developers will benefit from a policy that is updated, concise and consistent. A better policy would ideally curtail some social media fuelled accusations of under-handed dealings. Though that’ll never truly cease, it’s never a bad time to offer this reminder: attached to every accusation is the name of a person’s dad, mom, son or daughter. All too often it can be easy to forget the damage these comments can have-particularly from people who don’t know the whole story.
The sooner an iron-clad policy can be put in place the better as the town looks to capitalize on a hot real estate market. Already there is real talk of local farmers looking to invest big dollars into building an abattoir within Greater Napanee. All the town’s property sales have been put on hold pending the review and now the completion of an updated bylaw-which was the right move by the town, however the longer it takes to get that bylaw in place the greater the risk of losing out on a development to a nearby municipality. It’s also only fair to mention that nobody was let ‘off the hook’ so to speak. KPMG, an outside firm with no dog in the fight so to speak, concluded they “did not find evidence to suggest any conflict of interest or any improper conduct or activity.” Based on the report it’s fair to say property sales conducted over the last decade by the town have been far from perfect. But they weren’t nefarious, either.
Leading up to the release of the report there were rumours swirling that the town would attempt to bury the report, only discussing the matter in closed session. Those rumours were put to rest when the report was released in full less than 24 hours after the meeting to the town’s website. Hard copies are also available upon request for all to read. In an era of online reporting it’s always nice to have the facts readily available for those willing to put in the research before jumping to conclusions. There was always a lot more to the story that didn’t always make the headlines.
The report now finalized, it’s time for the town to take the lessons learned and move forward with better policy for all involved.
Adam Prudhomme