Moose Jaw city council has approved more than $400,000 in emergency funding for Mosaic Place and Yara Centre after an audit revealed huge financial losses at the facilities.
Council also dismissed the board that oversees both facilities, replacing it with a city hall committee comprised of Mayor Deb Higgins and two city councillors who served on the previous board.
An audit report revealed Friday that the Mosaic Place arena and Yara Centre fieldhouse have lost money each year since opening in 2011. Losses include $1.1 million last year, nearly $600,000 in 2014, close to $1 million in 2013, and about half a million dollars in 2012. The report concludes that both facilities “will require a subsidy in the long term.”
The audit report flags spending that exceeding approved levels, and notes that the facilities have more managers than comparable organizations. It also states that the board tasked with overseeing operations at the facilities “placed too much empowerment and trust in the CEO.”
“The CEO appears to have been controlling data and limiting the flow of information,” reads the report.
Moose Jaw voters will head to the polls to elect a new city council in the Oct. 26 municipal election.
Based on a report by CTV Regina's Dale Hunter
