Masset council is taking a look at the village's lack of written policies for awarding contracts and disposing of surplus assets, after one councillor said he has received complaints from the public.
Councillor Rollie Wheeler said the situation is not fair and must be corrected as soon as possible.
"We just recently disposed of a piece of equipment and I have been bombarded with questions," Mr. Wheeler said at Monday night's council meeting (Oct. 27). "I'm talking about the integrity of how we do things at the village level... I think that when things belong to the taxpayer, everyone should have a chance to bid on it."
He said the public complaints were triggered by the recent disposal of a truck belonging to the village, but did not want to give any more details about this transaction.
Chief administrative officer Trevor Jarvis said the village has no written policy or bylaw regarding how it gets rid of equipment or vehicles it no longer needs.
Mr. Wheeler said he has also been receiving complaints about the village's process of tendering contracts.
"If there's a job that comes up in the municipality of Masset... we're talking thousands of dollars here... what is wrong with having a policy were you get bids in?" he asked. "Right now, I'm not happy with the lack of process."
Mr. Jarvis said that the village does not have a written policy or bylaw in this area either. Chief financial officer Kim Mushynsky said that usually, when the village needs to hire someone or something for a short-term job, the opportunity is advertised on MHTV.
Council members agreed to set up a subcommittee to take a further look at the issues raised by Mr. Wheeler. They also voted to discuss the issue further in a closed meeting.