"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday 18 June 2014

You Need to Know

$ 62,267  in full. Town share $12,794.

When Power  Stream  moved out of the hydro building , my first inclination was it should be sold Twenty-seven jobs went with the utility.

An  election was in the offing. Nigel Kean was challenging Tim Jones for Mayor. He floated the idea the property should be used as a  youth centre.

Tim caught the ball running ... and  ran with it.

At the time, inquired about assessment and potential tax revenue.  Taxes derived from  estimate assessment was $69,000.

Assessment is based on market value. A couple of factors  alter the principle for business .

Revenue from the lease to the Department of National Defence  is regularly cited as an asset.

Forfeited  tax revenue is never factored .

If the Feds owned the building there would  be a grant in lieu of taxes.

But the town owns it. Taxes  and grant are  both forfeit.

 As landlords we provide maintenance for the property.

Several hundreds of thousand were  spent initially  which  would swallow up several years rent.

Figures  were never made public. . To this day, the total is not known. Annual budget for  maintenance must be factored.

This morning,  figures reveal forfeit taxes represent almost half the lease rent. No doubt
cost of upgrades to suit the client take that figure well over the halfway mark.

Interest on realized capital asset is  lost.

The public  can  have no confidence the town's interest is well served  by the lease with the Federal government.

I  do not believe a  bad deal  between two levels of government, both committed to integrity , is  untouchable.

Wrong should be made right

Continued  effort should be extended to that end

 I may be the only one at the Council table of that view.

Sometimes  it seems  Councillors  and staff have a problem hearing  me. It's not a unique experience.

They listen but  the  message gets lost in contradiction ,mis-placed  accountability and various other factors.

They forget or  never understood  Council's  authority  in town  affairs

Public understanding  of  government business is constantly under-valued.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Wrong should be made right

Continued effort should be extended to that end

I may be the only one at the Council table of that view."

I agree... you are the only one of that view. I disagree with you as well.

I see you write about the building now in that you never see any activity.

I drove by it the other night and I got to wondering, what activity are you expecting? What regular activity did you see at the old drill shed? I also wonder if you have been in the building since DND took over to see an actual drill night or parade?

Anonymous said...

You are quite right but it is far too late in an unproductive term for this council to change their ways. Sit back & enjoy watching the antics as they figure out who should replace Ballard.

Anonymous said...


I think it might be appropriate to also say that Council's understanding of government business (its own) is constantly undervalued.

There doesn't appear to be a business-mind in the chamber when discussing business.

But when monkey-business is the subject, suddenly everyone participates.

Anonymous said...

15:04
I can think of 2 excellent possibilities but am reluctant to land anyone in a mess. One of mine is, I believe, free except for some tutoring work, the other is in & out of the town hall regularly. Neither would need to play catch-up.

Anonymous said...

15:02
I don’t think Evelyn is the only one of that view. She’s the only one vocal about it. The one who spots the “entitled” from a mile away. The only one who dares to step up to the plate.

Anonymous said...


From the sound of things our council will be soon encased in a cocoon, semi-conscious and virtually inactive. There are only three meetings during the period July-September, unless there is an emergency, and then nothing in October to prevent sitting members from campaigning before the camera.

November is a "hail fellow, well met" month.

So, effectively our council is in a lame duck phase from now until the new one takes office December 1.

This is really unacceptable, and yet they still babbled on last night.

These people would never survive in the real world of accountability and fiscal responsibility.

Anonymous said...

19:11- What’s scary is that they all have day jobs! Maybe if they watched themselves on video they might get an awakening. Last night babbling was ridiculous. Going on and on about the Tigers and the Chambers conflict. That decision is a no-brainer. The chamber can move to another location. Yes it will be hard and there will be some lumps and bumps, but that’s life….or….business. I’m sure the Town can help out with the transition. But to yap away about how hard and difficult this decision is was a pretty bad theatrical performance. I was waiting for the violins to play in the background.