"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

Saturday 5 May 2012

It Is What It Is

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "He Is No Machiavellian Prince":

Please try and get your numbers accurate:

sucks up about half a million and growing

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In 2010  it was $343,000.plus $147,000 for maintenance and utilities, It was not a full year The payment was for that part of the year the facility was occupied.  A matching grant  was paid for a $50,000 donation

No rent was paid. .

Also the residue of the budget  for the renovation , furnishings and equipment were turned over to the board in  an amount  in excess of  $300.000.

T he agreement calls  for  3% increase. annually.  The payment  for 2011 was $347,000.  Plus cost  for maintenance and  utilities  which would also have increased to  more than  $147,000.

 Still no rent paid.

In  2012,  the  3% increase  brought the payment  to  $356,000..  Plus the cost of  maintenance and utilities  again  incrementally more.

Still no rent being paid.

I understand  in 2011,  $15,000 was raised in "charitable" drives and that was matched by the  town..

In  last  year's report,  reference was made to  a financial calculation  for volunteer hours contributed.

No doubt another match of funds expected. 

It should be understood   town payments   are  not in the form of a grant..

The title of the agreement is " Contract for  Purchase Of Culture" ..

We are purchasing with taxpayers' dollars, culture for the masses.

We set \ up the board. We paid for the lawyer to file the articles of incorpoation.  We paid for the lawyer working on their part of the agreement. We handed over a building that cost  $2.3 million plus  $700,000  from a   federal heritage to renovate for a state of the art modern museum. 

Then we made a deal to purchase an unknown quantity  or quality of culture  for an ever-growing  amount which is probably closer to full  million that half a million.a year.

Where is the public interest served with a deal like that.

Who was minding the store?

Who is minding the store ?

De'il  the yin as far as I can see.? ..

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It would have been helpful at that mob-meeting if the town had seen fit to hand out those figures in your post to those attending. Maybe it would have filtered through to some of them that they were involved in a giant rip-off. Or not.