966. Every year, at the first general sitting after the date of the municipal elections held in the municipality, the council shall appoint, for the period ending on the ensuing 31 December, one or more auditors, for the auditing of the accounts of the corporation.
At any time of the year, if it deems it expedient, the council must likewise, by one or more auditors specially appointed for the purposes of this paragraph, have an audit made of the accounts of the corporation for all or any of the preceding five years, provided no similar audit has been made for the year or years in question.
At any time of the year, if called upon in writing so to do by at least 10 ratepayers, the council must likewise have an audit made of the accounts of the corporation for all or any of the preceding five years, provided no such audit has already been made for all or any of the years in question.
In the case of the preceding paragraph, the auditor shall be appointed by the council, but, before appointing him, the choice which the council proposes to make must be accepted in writing by the majority of the ratepayers who have asked for the audit, and, if such ratepayers and the council fail to agree, the auditor shall be appointed by a Provincial Court judge for the judicial district, on the petition of one of the parties after a notice of eight clear days to the other party.
The costs of such audit are payable by the secretary-treasurer if he is guilty of embezzlement or if, found to be short in his accounts, he fails to make reimbursement within the delay fixed by article 969; if not, and if it be of no benefit to the corporation, they are chargeable to the persons who have applied for it.
The request in writing made to the council by at least 10 ratepayers, in accordance with this article, must be accompanied by a deposit of $500. Such deposit must be returned to the applicants if the costs of the audit are not charged to the persons who requested same.
Every auditor appointed for the aforesaid purposes may be an individual or a firm and may entrust the work to his or its employees, but then the responsibility of the said auditor shall be the same as if such work had been entirely performed by the auditor. In the case of a firm, the taking of the oath of office by one of the partners shall be sufficient.
No auditor or auditors appointed under the first paragraph may be removed prior to 31 December of any year without the consent of the Commission Municipale du Québec.
M.C. 1916, a. 642; 1921, c. 109, s. 1; 1927, c. 74, s. 13; 1930, c. 108, s. 1; 1935, c. 108, s. 7; 1938, c. 103, s. 7; 1949, c. 59, s. 67; 1952-53, c. 29, s. 20; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 17, s. 2; 1977, c. 5, s. 14.