-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------
Well Worth the Visit!
Let's see... where do I start..... A rough tally of travel claimed expenses for SWSDA's CEO in the fiscal year 2005/2006 shows that the Triangle Ale House was often frequented by Mr. Anderson, often late in the evening, ..... always at taxpayers' expense..... presumably in his efforts to promote the socio-economic development of Clare and/or the other eight municipalities in Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties.
I've attached photos contributed by their patrons that I got from the Triangle Ale House web page to help you get an idea of the venue.
A quick tally of Mr. Anderson's receipts provided as a result of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia's Order, shows expenses at this one establishment of more than 10% of Mr. Anderson's reported travel expenses (not counting airfares or expenses attributed to projects like the Boys School) during that 12 month period.
Between April 1, 2005 and March 31, 2006 taxpayers paid some $2,000 in sales and pencilled-in tips (often of 30-40% or more) at this one establishment - the Triangle Ale House.
Assuming that Mr. Anderson has spent at the Triangle Ale House.... on average the same amount each year since its establishment nine years ago.....
How much would taxpayers in South West Nova .... have contributed the Old Triangle Ale House? ...... More than $20,000 for the wares and services provided to Mr. Anderson mostly in the late night hours of the evening.
Assuming an average of 25% tips .... would mean that South West Nova taxpayers would have provided wait staff at the Ale House with nearly $5,000 in gratuities.
Having never been to the Triangle Ale House before, last night I ventured forth while in Halifax to see if I could learn why this establishment plays such an apparently important role in the promotion of the development efforts of Shelburne and Yarmouth municipalities and Clare.
Of course, I was looking for signs that supported Mr. Anderson's choice of this location for so many of the purported meetings held late in the evening with unidentified collaborators .... on our behalf....!
Here's what I found.... a crowded, noisy venue with 50 to 75 thirty to forty-something year olds casually dressed and out having a good time, normally in groups of 4 or more! (See photos at the start of this posting.
With a loud live band playing almost continuously... sound levels between the crowd and the band were loud enough that it meant you had to wave your arms to attract a waiter, because he/she could never hear any normally audible plea for service.
For the most part.... a location where you need to get within earshot of the person you are speaking with so they can hear you over the din generated by the ambient noise of glass and bottles clinking, laughter, music and animated, excited testosterone and hormone-driven conversations. At around 10:00 I saw no food being served nor any sign that food was an important part of the menu at that time of the evening..... although I did see bouncers carefully ushering a number of patrons to the door.
Overall ...... I still haven't figured out why anyone would reportedly tip so much at this location since there was no particularly redeeming trait that I could associate with the Ale House as an environment for conducting business or a location that provided business services of any kind......
I looked for anyone I might recognize.... but sadly saw no one I knew.... and after searching the walls, I am confess that I found no photos of anyone I recognized from Shelburne or Yarmouth Counties.... or Clare.
But..... my biggest disappointment was that I didn't have a tape recorder, camera or video camera with me so that I could have given readers a better idea of what I found at the Old Triangle Ale House.... maybe next time!
In the interim, I did get to figure out how receipts work there and will give you a look see if I get a chance later today......
2 comments:
SWSDA investigated by Nova Scotia Office of The Ombudsman ???? Dwight Bishop, ex RCMP officer and Conservative Government appointee, you might just as well have the tooth-fairy investigate.
You probably already know this, but the Triangle is *the* hang-out spot for politicians, senior bureaucrats, and political staffers of all stripes. It's kitty-corner across from Province House, in the ground floor of the Natural Resources building, across the street from the Joe Howe building with -among others- Health, and 100 yards from the Centennial building, with Eco Dev, the Tory and NDP caucuses and party offices, and the Liberal party office. It also has a few tiny rooms with doors that shut called snugs. So no, not just another 30-something bar.
That being said, Anderson has no right to be blowing wads of taxpayer cash there, late at night or any time of day. For someone in his position, an occasional lunch with the Deputy Minister of Eco Dev might be acceptable. But the pattern you've found? Not a chance.
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