The municipal Auditor General has released his report into the transfer of Metro Centre box office operations over to Trade Centre Limited.

Larry Munroe told HRM’s Audit and Finance standing committee that this deal was made between HRM administration and Trade Centre Limited. He says the agreement was never ran by city council for approval.

Munroe says his biggest concern is that he wasn’t able to find documentation of the deal made in April 2006.

“As everyone knows, I’ve spoken to governance a number of times at HRM,” he says. “When governance is taking place, when there are matters that are before council or before management, I often am concerned about the level of documentation, the analysis that is done, how the conclusions are reached, and the courses of action that HRM undertakes. So those became the largest concerns for me.”

In the current agreement, the city-owned Metro Centre receives only $0.40 for every ticket sold. A graph presented Wednesday morning shows that Metro Centre profits have edged down since the deal was made.

Munroe is recommending that the city re-negotiate its commission rate with TCL.

“We need to now go and understand ticketing and what is a reasonable commission to be paid in this particular situation,” Munroe says.

Munroe is also recommending that the entire management agreement between the Metro Centre and TCL be reviewed.

Trade Centre Limited issued a release Wednesday afternoon saying it is committed to working with HRM to address the recommendations of the report.

“We have always taken our responsibility for the Halifax Metro Centre very seriously. Since 2006-07, the Halifax Metro Centre has attracted over three million attendees and has returned over $3.4 million to HRM as a result of its strong operations,” said Scott Ferguson, president and CEO of TCL. “We are committed to managing the facility in the best interest of HRM and we will work with them to implement any changes required as a result of this report.”

The Halifax Metro Centre is owned by HRM and managed by TCL under an agreement established in 1982. Since becoming manager, TCL has followed the 1982 agreement and managed the Halifax Metro Centre for the benefit of HRM.

Read the Auditor General’s report