An audit into questionable past spending at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District is halfway finished.

Chief administrative officer Scott Hildebrand told NL News this morning another public update will come to the TNRD board next month.

And a draft final report will be done in August. “With a fully transparent and fact-based public report to follow thereafter,” Hildebrand told the NL Morning News.

“So that will be coming. Along with that report of course, will come further policy procedure adjustments. A strategy to make sure something like this can never happen again. We’ve been spending a lot of time and effort on this one, and rightfully so.”

The audit by BDO Canada comes after a report by Kamloops This Week showed more than half a million dollars was spent on the credit card of former CAO Sukh Gill over five years. Much of the spending was at luxury hotels, restaurants, golf course, coffee shops, wineries and other high-cost, discretionary locations, and the money was spent by Gill for himself, his staff, board members and guests.

An RCMP investigation is also ongoing, after being launched earlier this spring.

Hildebrand could not provide details on the police probe, but he says the TNRD is cooperating with police and he is providing information when asked.

He adds the investigations have not taken away from productivity among regional district staff.

“We want to look at this as a reset. We certainly have a road ahead of us to earn back the trust of the constituents, and we plan to do that in a very proactive way. So we’re looking forward to it, and we’re remaining positive and trying to find an appropriate path forward.”