City council now shedding some light on the withdrawal of the Niagara IceDogs $1 million donation for the naming of IceDogs Way.
An internal review, requested by Council, shows that an absence of formal policies around fundraising, donations and naming rights contributed to the breakdown of the donation.
Failure to follow normal procedures was also a factor.
In a release, Mayor Walter Sendzik says the internal review identified a number of areas for improvement to prevent this from happening again.
Council has provided clear direction to the CAO to develop a policy for sponsorship and naming rights which will include terms such as length of sponsorship and ensure all City procedures are followed in the execution of agreements. This includes ensuring a signed agreement is in place before recognition is given
On Monday night Council received a report from the CAO which outlined the events leading to the withdrawal of the money.
This was dealt with as a confidential matter regarding identifiable individuals and legal matters.
However, Sendzik says in the interests of transparency, Council provided direction to the Mayor to update our community on this issue.