TOWNSHIP OF LANGLEY - At its first business meeting, Township of Langley Council voted November 4, 2026 to order an independent forensic audit of the Township’s finances, borrowing, capital projects, land transactions, agreements and contracts, covering the period from November 7, 2022 to the present.
The motion directs staff to engage, on an expedited basis, an independent forensic audit team reporting directly to Council. The team will include, at a minimum, a chartered professional accountant with forensic audit experience and an experienced investigator, with legal, engineering, real estate and other specialists added as the work requires.
The audit’s scope includes the finances, borrowing, reserves and internal borrowing of the Township and of the Township of Langley Housing Trust, the Township-owned society through which approximately $177 million was borrowed. It also covers all land acquisitions, dispositions, leases, exchanges and option agreements; every capital project, including approved budgets, change orders, actual costs and funding sources; and all agreements, contracts, grants and indemnities, reviewed for legality, value for money and compliance with the Community Charter and Township bylaws.
“We said we would open the books in our first 100 days. It’s been less than 48 hours since we were sworn in, and we’re throwing the books open,” said Mayor Jay Lundgren. “Transparency and honest communication about finances is a significant part of restoring respect for Township taxpayers. We need to know what we collectively own and owe. During this forensic audit process, residents are going to see where their money went, how it was borrowed and who signed off. If everything was done right, the audit will say so. If it wasn’t, they deserve to know that too.”
The audit will be funded first from the remaining balance of the Mayor’s Contingency Fund, which will be abolished in the 2027-2031 Financial Plan, then from Council contingency and prior-year surplus. All Township officers and employees are directed to give the audit team full and prompt access to records, systems and personnel, and no record within the audit’s scope may be destroyed or altered while the audit is under way.
Council is establishing a Standing Audit Committee of Council, which will meet at least monthly to serve as Council’s liaison to the audit team and to review the Township’s financial plan, borrowing, reserves and capital program. Staff will report within 45 days on the status, cost to date, forecast cost to complete and funding source of every capital project under way or approved.
“Langley families carry more municipal debt than anyone in British Columbia, and property taxes went up 22 per cent in four years. Those two facts are related,” Mayor Lundgren said. “We are going to finish what’s already under way. But we are not going to ask residents to keep paying for projects without showing them the bill, what it covers, and how we pay it down. That’s what the Audit Committee is for. Monthly, in public, no surprises.”
In a second motion, Council directed the Township Clerk to report within 60 days on every procedural and governance bylaw, policy and delegation amended since December 2022, including any change to the powers of the Mayor, Council or the Chief Administrative Officer, as the first step in a review of the Council Procedure Bylaw within 90 days.
“You shouldn’t have to agree with the Mayor to be treated with respect by your own Township Hall. That goes for all of us at this table,” Mayor Lundgren said. “A lot of rules and responsibilities changed over the past four years. We need an inventory to see exactly what best practices were lost, what has worked, and what hasn’t. Then we can reshape the rules to ensure residents are properly heard; to clarify mayor, council and staff roles and responsibilities; and open Township Hall to the people it serves.”
For Surrey readers, the move mirrors the new Surrey council’s own commitment to a forensic audit, announced as one of its 15 election commitments ahead of its first regular meeting on November 9. Langley Township sits directly east of Surrey, and its audit will be watched closely by residents on both sides of the municipal boundary, including the many Surrey families who work, shop and send children to school in the Township.
(Source: Township of Langley, November 4, 2026)
