The release date of a forensic audit at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has been pushed back a final time, according to staff.

CAO Scott Hildebrand says BDO will present its findings on the week of Dec. 13. A date for that week has not been determined yet, but there will be a public presentation. The report started in early May and was first expected to be done by August.

“As communicated at our last meeting, the forensic audit work is taking longer than expected. And we had hoped to have a revised timeline of November for a final report and presentation of the findings. However, this needs to be adjusted one final time.”

Hildebrand says it’s unfortunate that the timeline has had to be pushed back. But he says new irregularities and information have come to light during the process.

“Our due diligence with these details is our priority,” he says.

This audit is happening after a Kamloops This Week report showed more than $517,000 in taxpayer dollars were spent on the former CAO Sukh Gill’s credit card, between 2015 and 2020. Much of the spending is controversial due to it being at high-cost, discretionary locations.

An RCMP investigation is also continuing into potential financial irregularities.