The city's auditor general will not be investigating an online phishing scam that resulted in a $293,000 loss at the Essex Region Conservation Authority last August.
After receiving dozens of questions from the public, councillor Jo-Anne Gignac brought a motion forward asking ERCA to provide reports to be used for an AG investigation.
The authority provided a detailed timeline to council, but in a 7-4 vote the motion was defeated.
ERCA CAO Tim Byrne says police continue to investigate.
"The OPP are engaged right now with the RCMP because those who have perpetrated this on the conservation authority, this is a worldwide, international group. The OPP is looking at it from that end with the RCMP and those investigations are still taking place."
He says an external audit found the authority's financial process to be in order.
"All of our financial departments are exemplary and had no involvement. Our existing protocols and our existing processes were also found to be correct and proper. Our audit that we've completed was also looked at and been commented on to be exemplary."
Byrne is cautioning other organizations to take a close look at their financial practices.
"Some things that you think you know and think you understand, you don't. The inherent scepticism that actually occurs with many of us with whiter hair needs to be shared with our younger colleagues who have become too comfortable in working in the full digital and electronic environments."
Gignac along with councillors Fred Francis and Gary Kaschak as well as mayor Drew Dilkens voted in favour of the auditor general investigation.
Those who voted against the motion called it an "over reach" of council's powers stating ERCA did its due diligence following the incident.
— with files from AM800's Gord Bacon