A campaign to get city councillors elected who support creating an auditor general position in Windsor begins in earnest tonight.
There are nine candidates that have committed their support to hiring an auditor general as part of the VoteAG campaign.
Organizer Howard Weeks says the campaign is meant to give as much exposure as possible to those candidates that are in favour of the idea.
"I think that an auditor general in Windsor would be one of the best things that could happen in terms of improving our government and the way that decisions are made," says Weeks.
A meeting with the VoteAG candidates is planned for Tuesday from 7pm - 9pm at Kurley's AC on Erie Street in Windsor.
Weeks sees the hiring of an auditor general as a way of improving accountability and transparency at city hall.
"What voteAG is all about is following the money and that's what an auditor general does," he says.
Weeks points to council decisions concerning the newly created Jackson Park light festival, the new ferry to Peche Island, and the restoration of an early 1900s streetcar as moves an auditor general could add greater critical review.
"To be able to ask questions which answers are required, to subpoena witnesses and basically get to the bottom of why it is that city council and the administration spend the money the way that they spend it," says Weeks.
City council rejected a proposed motion in 2015 that called for the creation of an auditor general's officer at a cost of $286,000 a year.
The city already hires accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to handle auditing reports at about $300,000 a year.
— with files from Rob Hindi