COULD IT BE TRUE?

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

Who committed us to a secret deal with SWSDA?

In Mr. Anderson's sworn Affidavit of November 27, 2007 Mr. Anderson states in part:

"That at the present time, SWSDA's operating account is negatively affected by the costs required to maintain Shelburne Park, the former Shelburne Naval Base on behalf of the Municipality of the District of Shelburne. That Municipality owes SWSDA in excess of $2.3 million with regard to the maintenance and carrying expenses associated with that project. Shelburne Park is for sale. The intention of SWSDA at the time of sale is to deduct from the proceeds of sale those monies owing by the Municipality of the District of Shelburne if not repaid earlier by that municipal unit."

Readers should be aware.... that as parties to this litigation, the Municipality of Shelburne received copies of this Affidavit along with all of the financial and other attachments. Oddly enough, no response to these allegations by Mr. Anderson were issued by the Municipality at the time or since. Why?

Questions:

a) Is it true?

b) If it isn't true, when can we expect a statement from the municipality rejecting this assertion by Mr. Anderson?

c) If it is true, who made this deal with SWSDA, when was the deal agreed to and why and equally importantly, was it legal?

d) Did Council ever agree to this in a public meeting?

e) If they did, when and where did they? And, please produce a copy of the approval.

f) If it is true, how do we know that the amounts claimed by Mr. Anderson are correct?

g) If it is true, will the Municipality demand a forensic audit conducted by an independent source?

h) If it is true, when will taxpayers in the Municipality have to repay this purported debt to SWSDA?

i) What will be the impact of this on our Municipal tax rates and will it be spread out over a multi-year period?


NOW THAT I THINK OF IT......

Given that Mr. Anderson claims he was just taking care of the base for the municipality
and any deficit would become a debt of the municipality,
and given that SWSDA sold the Base for a reported $2,750,000,
and given that SWSDA's claim was that the Municipality owed SWSDA $2,300,000 ....

When can we expect to receive the extra $450,000 collected by SWSDA for the sale of the Base and how much will it reduce our tax rate?

When First We Practice to Deceive.....

Team Shelburne...... Hope you've looked at Team Shelburne Minutes at the Barrington Web page. (Brian Holland has done a terrific job of compiling, recording and posting Minutes of Team Shelburne meetings.)
It'll help you see (at least part of) what was going on in public..... This letter will show you what was going on behind the scenes with SWSDA and Mr. Anderson.

In the letter to your right(click on it to expand it) Mr. Anderson assures Team Shelburne a week before the closing of the sale of the Nova Scotia Boys School that SWSDA will forward a list of invoices received and paid on a monthly basis to Team Shelburne..... Don't know if they ever did.... maybe you should ask your representative on Team Shelburne if they ever received ANY invoices or receipts from SWSDA!

In the letter, Mr. Anderson also assures Team Shelburne that all funds for the Youth Centre since inception have "...been held in a separate interest bearing project account." Like most reasonable people I am sure Team Shelburne members thought this meant the money was not commingled and/or susceptible to "being dissipated" along with all other SWSDA money, and that the money was actually collecting interest.

BOY..... THEY MUST HAVE BEEN "SOME RIGHT SURPRISED" TO SEE MR. ANDERSON'S AFFIDAVIT A FEW MONTHS LATER IN NOVEMBER DECLARING THE MONEY GONE!!!!

Questions.......

1. Do you think Mr. Anderson deceived Team Shelburne?

2. Do you think he did it on purpose?

3. If you had an employee do this to you what would you do?

You probably will recall or may have read that Parker Comeau wanted to go to the RCMP and spoke out about what he thought was happening when he heard .... however, Alan Reid, the Town of Shelburne's representative on the SWSDA Board and an avowed supporter of Mr. Anderson was opposed to the motion.... I've got a copy of the video of Council that night and everything Mr. Reid said in Mr. Anderson's defence... if I can digitize it I'll load it up to refresh people's memories... our present Mayor Delaney was at Council that night so I'm sure he'll remember.

In response.... Mr. Anderson used our tax dollars to hire high-priced lawyers to write threats of defamation lawsuits unless retractions were made .... immediately.... and sure enough both Mr. Comeau and the Chronicle Herald "did the necessary".... how do you spell "hutzpah"? My old Aunt Rose would have said that Mr.Anderson had "more nerve than the devil". I usually agree with Aunt Rose.... she was pretty smart about people.....

All of this sort of reminds of .... the first time I saw a shell game when I was fourteen and in New York City for the first time on a trip with my high school band... I'll never forget the fast-talking guy with the cigar and the three shells and a pea on a street corner... boy.... was he making money.... I was fascinated and never figured out how he could fool people so easily who were standing so close to him .... and watching him so closely......

Guess scrutiny involves more than proximity.....

IT NEVER ENDS!!

---Nova Scotia Boys School Edition ---

From day one.... in 2005 when SWSDA was given $600,000 to maintain the boys School until it was sold, SWSDA has treated these funds like newly found pin money to be spent as Mr. Anderson saw fit. SWSDA continues to treat these funds in the same manner.

In the pages and blogs that follow over the next few days I will highlight some of these expenditures from the funds provided by the province to maintain the Boys School property until it was sold. Now the real story of what happened to that $600,000 can finally be told.

It is not a pretty story and I expect it will anger some when they become familiar with some of the details. All of the numbers I will use are derived from Affidavits Sworn by SWSDA's CEO Mr. Anderson or pre-trial memos from Mr. Robert Belliveau , Q. C. , one of the lawyers hired by SWSDA. Remember, these are not my numbers.... they are SWSDA's.

Before I start, let's get some principles and facts set out so that we understand the references.

1. The Province actually provided a total of $625,000 for the maintenance of the Boys School until it was sold. Please find below the Minister's letter transferring a $600,000 payment in October 2005. Click on it to enlarge.


2. Closing on the sale of the Boys School was on June 27, 2007. This is an important date. Remember it.

3. As indicated in earlier blogs, readers should visit the Barrington Municipal Web site to understand the tug of war that has taken place between Mr. Anderson the the Municipalities in Shelburne County about the use of the maintenance fund before and after the sale as well as the revenues derived from the actual sale of the school.

4. From the beginning Mr. Anderson assured Shelburne municipalities that the maintenance fund and the proceeds from the sale were safely kept in a separate account collecting interest to be added to the total.

5. SWSDA never produced an accounting of maintenance expenditures and revenues from the sale as of the date of sale, June 27, 2007. Below please find a copy of four different sets of numbers prepared by Mr. Anderson in SWSDA's efforts to justify their expenditures on items other than maintenance of the Boys School until it was sold. Please click on the image below to enlarge.

Here's what is in front of you.... it is a bit boring but worth working through! Trust me......

The first column ...takes you to May 31, 2007, a little less than two months before the closing on the sale of the Nova SCotia Boys School to Mr. MacDonnell.... in fact a week or more before Mr.MacDonnell had even incorporated the company that beat out Mr. Dockrill's proposal and won the bid for the Boys School in March! These figures in column one are those provided by Mr. Anderson to Team Shelburne.

Remember, Mr. Anderson is reporting here on his use of the "Maintenance Fund" established by the Province for the Boys school. Please note total repairs and maintenance costs reported here at the end of May only account for $10,672.91. Revenues are a total of $640,040.10 - BEFORE - the sale of the Boys School .... made up in part by interest of $12,343.60..... that would work out to about 1% per year. the balance remaining according to SWSDA at the end of May 2007, before the addition of proceeds from the sale of the Boys school is $278,638.37

The second column .... reports on the increase in revenues to the Boys School monies as a result of the sale of the Boys School for a reported amount of $550,000 and the balance remaining from the maintenance fund, totalling a reported $791,697.27 at the end of July, 2007. Interest increases from $12,343.60 at the end of May to $16,190.35. Not sure what interest rates applies to what amount since this is an increase of nearly 25% in interest attributed to these funds over a two month period! (Please note that SWDA and Mr. Anderson have never provided an accounting of maintenance expenses to June 27th when the property was sold.) This is the closest we get to it.

According to this statement prepared by SWSDA and provided by Mr. Anderson, total maintenance expenses, more than a month after the sale of the property totaled $402,189.58.

At this juncture, Team Shelburne members and the public had been told by SWSDA and Mr. Anderson that the $791,697.27 was in a separate account collecting interest as the Shelburne County Boys School Fund. If you read Team Shelburne minutes from the Municipality of Barrington site you'll see that Team Shelburne worked earnestly from June onward to limit Mr. Anderson's spending of these monies initially and then tried with increasing desperation to get the monies away from Mr. Anderson in August and September.....

You'll find out shortly why Mr. Anderson didn't give them the money. ...... I expect you will be as surprised as Team Shelburne was to find out why SWSDA didn't want to give the money to Team Shelburne!!

AND.... THE ANSWER IS FOUND IN COLUMN THREE......

The figures and supporting explanations found in column three were provided in two sworn affidavits submitted by Mr. Anderson in November 2007 where he makes the following statements.

"That I am a former banker with 17 years of experience with the Bank of Montreal. As a result of that experience, I am familiar with management, banking, banking practices, accounting and the application of accounting principles;"

"That Team Shelburne is not a legal entity and does not legally exist."

"That the sale proceeds referred to have already been dissipated of in manners which are consistent with SWSDA's bona fide business undertaking." (My underlining.)

"That when SWSDA made the deposit of the proceeds of the sale of the former Shelburne Youth Facility [sic] its bank account, more than $350,000 was owing on the LOC. As such, the bank automatically took $350,000 of the proceeds of the sale to reduce SWSDA's indebtedness on the LOC. Any positive balance was thereafter used by SWSDA to meet its ongoing expenses on behalf of the five municipal units which comprise Team Shelburne;"

NOW ...... YOU TOO KNOW THE SECRET....!!!

SWSDA HAD SPENT ALL THE MONEY FROM THE BOYS SCHOOL.... both the maintenance fund and the revenues from the sale of the Nova Scotia Boys School property,........ before they went to court on Fraudulent Conveyance charges in December 2007.

The remedy being sought in the Fraudulent Conveyance case was designed to force SWSDA to take the money they and Mr. Anderson had claimed up to that point was in a separate interest bearing account and set it aside so they couldn't spend it!

That is when we discovered through Mr. Anderson's Affidavits ... that the Boys School money had already been "dissipated" according to Mr. Anderson .... (must be a fancy bankers term for "spent").... (my dictionary defines dissipated as "wasted, gotten rid of, spread around, thrown away") .....

The solution... worked out at trial by the parties was to get SWSDA to take an amount equal to the proceeds from the sale of the Boys School and the balance of the maintenance fund out of the proceeds realized by SWSDA when the former Naval Base was sold and set it aside to replace the Boys School Funds that had disappeared.....Oops!!! I meant had been secretly "dissipated" by Mr. Anderson.

The Consent Order agreed to by SWSDA, the Muncipalities and OPI and Issued by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Reads....

"The proceeds of the sale of the lands and premises known as "Shelburne Place" together with the balance remaining in the maintenance fund at the time of the sale (the "Team Shelburne Funds") shall forthwith upon the sale of the sale of the former Shelburne Naval Base be deposited by the South West Shore Development Authority ("SWSDA")into an interest bearing segregated bank account or GIC to be held pending the outcome of the Plaintiff's claim against SWSDA in the proceeding known as 2002 S. H. No. 187898 ( the "first action");"

NOW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND A BIT MORE OF THE BACKGROUND.... please take a look at column four.

It shows SWSDA's latest accounting of revenues and maintenance costs related to the Nova Scotia Boys School and their latest version of what should be set aside to replace the Boys School funds "dissipated" under Mr. Anderson's leadership.

NOW..... according to SWSDA the money to be set aside by SWSDA is not $791,000 or $782,000.... as it was in July or October..... SWSDA now argues it has decreased by nearly $100,000!

...... oh, and by the way..... no interest has accrued to the Boys School Fund since July 2007.... almost two years ago.... go figure..... **** ..... must be more intricate banker's stuff.... too complicated for me... my degree is in Economics!

Which leads us to the reason that SWSDA and Mr. Anderson are now facing Contempt of Court Charges. ..... Trial is in Shelburne October 23, 2009 and is open to the public.

More about this later.... this blog is already too long.... but thought I should set the stage so readers could get the basic facts about how we got here..... Please let me know if I can provide clarification.... and make sure to pass this on to others.... especially your local representatives.....

SWSDA Suing Municipality of Shelburne?

For some time now I've heard the rumour that SWSDA and the Municipality had an unwritten deal respecting the former Naval Base. Indeed, I've heard Raymond Davis say at a public meeting that if we didn't solve SWSDA's problems with the properties given to them by the Federal and Provincial governments, that they would sue the municipality.

At the time, SWSDA was running a reported deficit of some $2.5 million on the Naval Base alone. Indeed, a few years ago the SWSDA Board voted to initiate action against the municipality if SWSDA's deficit problem was not resolved.

For the last seven years I have asked the Municipality to explain to me why the municipality was saddled with this reported SWSDA debt. To date I have never gotten a satisfactory answer.

So yesterday I filed a FOIPOP request with the municipality. Following is a copy of the FOIPOP application I made. Attached also find a copy of my FOIPOP application of yesterday to SWSDA for Mr. Anderson's travel expenses of 2006/2007. It is similar to the ones made yesterday to the Yarmouth Industrial Commission, Yarmouth Port Authority and the World Trade and Convention Centre.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Form 1
Application for Access to a Record
Province of Nova Scotia
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Subsection 6(1)

TO: Penny Smith, FOIPOP Administrator Municipality of Shelburne

1. This is an application pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for access to all decisions, documents, correspondence and records related to ownership of the Shelburne Park by the Municipality of Shelburne.

2. Without restricting the foregoing, I am applying for copies of the following records:
a.) all records and supporting documents for any decision taken by Council and/or any committee of Council respecting ownership of the former Shelburne Naval Base by the Municipality of the District of Shelburne;
b.) all contracts and/or agreements between the Municipality of the District of the Shelburne and the Shelburne Park Development Authority, and/or the South West Shore Development Authority, and/or the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and/or the Department of Economic Development respecting ownership of the Former Shelburne Naval Station.

3. Please note that if third parties need to be advised I expect the Municipality to comply and adhere strictly with the requirements as set out in the Act.

4. I wish to receive a copy of the record(s).

5. I understand that I may be required to pay a fee before obtaining access to the record (s).

Date: May 14, 2009
Signature of Applicant: ___________________________________
Print Full Name of Applicant: Adelard Alfred Cayer
Mailing Address of Applicant: Adelard A. Cayer
PO Box 995
Shelburne, Nova Scotia B0T 1W0

Telephone Numbers of Applicant: 902-875-3870, Cell 902-512-0052
Fax Number of Applicant: 1-877-786-4704

Request to Waive Fees
I hereby request to be excused from paying fees related to the above application because I cannot afford to pay fees.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Form 1
Application for Access to a Record
Province of Nova Scotia
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Subsection 6(1)

TO: Rod Rose, Chairman, South West Shore Development Agency

1. This is an application pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for access to all Travel Expense Claims for FY 2006/2007 made by SWSDA’s CEO Mr. Frank Anderson.

2. I am applying for copies of the following records:
a.) All travel expense claims and all supporting documentation and receipts used to justify any and all travel expenses by Mr. Frank Anderson from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007;
b.) Please note this includes all travel incurred on behalf of SWSDA. If travel claims are shared with other parties I want copies of these travel expense claims and supporting documents as well as an explanation of how these amounts are shared and the supporting justification.
c.) If travel costs are attributed to project or other accounts within SWSDA or recovered by SWSDA from other sources within or outside SWSDA I will expect copies of those also with a clear explanation of what these were.
d.) I want copies of all travel advances made to Mr. Frank Anderson in FY 2006/2007 and justification(s) provided for any advance along with copies of documentation supporting the use and the reconciliatation of the advances made in FY 2006/2007;

3. Please note that if third parties need to be advised I expect SWSDA to comply and adhere strictly with the requirements as set out in the Act.

4. I wish to receive a copy of the record.

5. I understand that I may be required to pay a fee before obtaining access to the record.

Date: May 14, 2009
Signature of Applicant: ___________________________________
Print Full Name of Applicant: Adelard Alfred Cayer
Mailing Address of Applicant: Adelard A. Cayer
PO Box 995
Shelburne, Nova Scotia B0T 1W0

Telephone Numbers of Applicant: 902-875-3870, Cell 902-512-0052
Fax Number of Applicant: 1-877-786-4704
Request to Waive Fees
I hereby request to be excused from paying fees related to the above application because:
(a) I cannot afford to pay fees.

For office use only
Date Received __________________ Application No. __________________

SWSDA GOT YOU ... FOR ANOTHER HALF MILLION!

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW!

Did you know that it is ILLEGAL for municipalities to guarantee SWSDA debt because it is a private society? Probably not......

Do you think municipal administrators (CLerks and CAO's) know it is illegal? I believe they do...... and have known for some time......

Do you think your wardens, mayors and councllors know? You bet they do.....

SO... HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE FOLLOWING?

UNBELIEVABLY.... EVERY year all nine of the municipalities on the SWSDA Board renew their guarantees of SWSDA's line of credit at the Royal Bank of Canada! Mind-boggling!!

Here's what residents of EACH municipality owe the bank if SWSDA defaults......

Town of Yarmouth Residents ....$95,750
Municipality of the District of Yarmouth Residents .... $116,750
Municipality of the District of Argyle Residents .... $100,750
Town of Lockeport Residents .... $8,500
Municipality of the District of Barrington Residents .... $92,250
Municipality of the District of Shelburne Residents .... $61,500
Town of Shelburne Residents.... $22,500
Town of Clarks Harbour Residents ..... $12,000

Total $510,000 (Please note that Clare has not provided guarantees according to SWSDA's 2006/2007 Financial statements even though they are one of the nine municipalties on SWSDA's Board. (Maybe that is one of the reasons that Clare reps on the Board are so supportive of Mr. Anderson.....) Or was it that great junket to Austria a few years ago.... more about that later.)

This is of course additional to our yearly funding of 1/3 of SWSDA's core funding by the municipalities.

DID YOU KNOW..... that for the last two years Mr. Anderson has been trying to get municipalities to add another $200,000 in guarantees to the already existing $500,000 but municipalities have been warned not to do that by the Department of Municipal Affairs!

So this creative lot has gotten around the problem while they try to get the Provincial government to change the rules... in the following manner......
These folks are soooooo smart!

Municipalities have been providing "repayable grants" to SWSDA this year in amounts equal to the additional guarantee requested by Mr. Anderson..... Smart EH?!? Now we are not just guaranteeing debt, we are avoiding it by giving SWSDA and Mr. Anderson the money....

If the province ever changes the rules municipalities will be expected to provide the increased guarantees and SWSDA will "return" the grants received..... (;-)

BTW.... If you believe that, you probably believe that SWSDA has been holding the balance of the maintenance fund since the sale of the Boys School on June 27, 2007 and the proceeds from the sale of the Boys School in a segregated interest-bearing account.... More about this later this weekend.

ANYWAY.... THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW.... INFORMED CITIZENS HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROL CHANGE!

Proper Administration of SWSDA

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------


SWSDA Accountability Focus ..... Celebrating 7,256 hits in last week alone!

This blog's initial focus has been in part on Mr. Anderson's travel expense claims. What you've seen so far is but the tip of the iceberg. That focus has been driven in part because it is but a reflection of what is wrong with SWSDA. In large measure I believe the blame for this state of affairs is clearly attributable in the first instance to each member of SWSDA's Board of Directors over the years and its CEO. Others who I believe share some of the burden for this state of affairs include:

a.) Department of Economic Development and the Registrar of Joint Stocks( I can name names and will in future posts supported by evidence.)

b.) ACOA

c.) Elected Municipal Officials in Shelburne County and their staff

d.) the Department of Municipal Affairs (Check today's blog about how they have made taxpayers more vulnerable to SWSDA's profligate spending habits.)

e.) SWSDA staff who have witnessed this abuse and who so far have done nothing about it.

This is not Rocket Science

Basic accounting principles are set up to provide natural checks and balances. Anyone who has been around for any length of time knows that. And yet, what Mr. Anderson's expense claims show is that there are no checks and balances on the expense accounts of his that we have seen so far. ( We know there are others of Mr. Anderson's Travel Expenses that have just not been provided following the Court Order despite Justice Hood's order to do so.)

A review of liability law makes every Board member liable for not ensuring that these expenses were properly managed and administered. Particular liablity of course falls on the shoulders of "those who should know better" like people with experience and professionals like accountants and lawyers who sit on the Board.

Knowing what I know about SWSDA and its operations, it has always fascinated me to hear that SWSDA is ISO certified. Clearly in SWSDA's case it provides evidence of the weakness and lack of credibility one should attach to ISO certification.

WE NEED to DEMAND .... improved administrative systems at SWSDA for everyone.

Here's a bit more evidence of why!

July 20, 2005 was a every long day......

EVIDENCE
Voucher from Triangle Ale House at 20:14 PM for $112.87 plus handwritten tip of $25.00 for a total of $137.87

Voucher From Casino Nova Scotia Hotel at 22:34 PM table 861/1 for $200.27 plus a handwritten tip of $ 40.00 for a total of $240.27

Total Vouchers in a couple hours ..... $366.97 including tips of some $65.00!

AND

Of course Mr. Anderson also charged SWSDA for his three meal allowance for that day!

Questions

JUST ASKING.... As would any concerned and responsible manager ..... who is managing SWSDA?

Addendum..... maybe this explains it........ Rudder's Seafood in Yarmouth December 15, 2005 voucher for $168.55 plus a tip for $20.00 with the notation "Richard + 20 people".... can anyone tell me who Richard is and why we are paying for this.... is he managing SWSDA?

FLASH !! FLASH !! FLASH !!

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

WANT ANSWERS ABOUT SWSDA?

NOW IS THE TIME TO ASK YOUR MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES QUESTIONS!

NEXT SWSDA BOARD MEETING ON MAY 20TH...... SIX DAYS FROM TODAY.....

I invite you to post your questions here. Identify your representative on the SWSDA Board and publicize the questions you want him or her to ask at the next Board Meeting....... Post anonymously or provide your name..... the question is the important part!

In preperation for the SWSDA meeting I will provide a briefing on Saturday, Sunday and Monday about how the money from the Boys School has reportedly been spent by SWSDA.

I'm also taking guesses from readers about how much was first missing on June 27, 2007 when the Boys school was sold, on October 1, 2007 when the Fraudulent Preference lawsuit was launched by OPI. And.... finally, how much less there was available on March 31, 2008 when the Base was sold!

POST TODAY

ANYONE ...BUT SHELBURNE!?!

-------- Your tax dollars at work --------


WHO HAS SIGNING AUTHORITY AT SWSDA?

Within organizations like SWSDA, power is generally shared by those with signing authorities.

There are many kinds of signing authorities of course, some having to do with personnel, contracts, and bank accounts, to name a few. I thought our readers would find it interesting to see present bank signing authorities.

Here they are...... Click on the singing authorities below to enlarge. Please note that SWSDA's Board has 9 municipalities on it who do all the tax dollar pump priming. Municipalities, by providing one-third of the core funding for SWSDA. also release one-third core funding from each the provincial and federal governments.

Interestingly..... five of the nine municipalities are Shelburne County municipalities; however, none of the signing authorities below are Shelburne County members of the Board!

Do you Wonder Why.....? If you do, you should ask someone!

People WE Thought Were Working For Us.....

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

Sooooo .... given the fact that we've now been told that we are not alone in paying Mr. Anderson's salary.... question is....

Is there anyone else paying the salaries of any of these folks and if there is.... are their identities secret also?

How do we know if they are solely employed by SWSDA?

Click on the org chart below and when you are done.... compare it to the org chart on SWSDA's web page..... Interesting, n'est pas?

SWSDA Letter Respecting CEO's Salary

THOUGHT FAITHFUL READERS MIGHT FIND THIS INTERESTING..... MORE LATER!

Just click on the letter below to get it to a size that is readable..... so you can see why SWSDA could not provide the information requested respecting Mr. Anderson's salary.

Doing Research in Halifax.....

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

Dear Readers.... Have a number of leads I am pursuing and may require a day or so to respond to all and post this week. My apologies.

Interesting information coming and blogs about information gathered respecting SWSDA CEO's salary, travel claims, etc.... all this week.

Also detailed information and breakdown about charges to Boys School Maintenance Fund blog just around the corner......

Will try to post as often as I can..... Thanks for your patience.....

Ed

Thoughts on political contributions and SWSDA Staff.....

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

My two cents.....

One comment asked what I thought about large contributions by one contributor....

I'm no expert on this but I do have views....in many ways the question is more fundamental and that is .... should the system for political candidates be brought into the 21st century. We know that the present system lends itself to corruption, cronyism and politicians who spend too much time raising money rather than arguments for the things they want to do while in office.

My view is that political donations should be restricted in size and source... For example, no contributions should be made by anyone who cannot vote in the particular election. That would mean no corporate donations, including donations from not for profit societies. Donations over a small amount like $50 and the name of the contributor who made the donation should be published at least one month before they can be used by the candidate..... That would be my perfect system..... I am sure political operatives would find ways to frustrate the effort but it couldn't be worse than the present system.

In search of Deep Throat

Over the past week or so I have focused the light on SWSDA's Board, Municipal and Provincial officials and politicians. Aside from SWSDA's CEO, I have said little about other SWSDA staff. In part, because I believe that many SWSDA staff are good, honest, hard-working, sincere individuals who are equally troubled by what they see and know about SWSDA. These unfortunate folk are caught between a rock and a hard place. Many have seen the abuses I've referred to first hand and know SWSDA's governance and accountability problems intimately. For those folks I feel a certain amount of compassion.

At the same time, I believe these folks have a moral responsibility to represent and protect the folks who pay the bills and their salaries.

That is why I am making a public plea at this time for staff to report any abuses they have seen or see to the Ombudsman's Office at PO Box 2152, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3B7. Plain manila envelopes posted to me at PO Box 995, Sheburne, Nova Scotia B0T 1W0 will also work. So will anonymous postings to this blog.

Questions to Answers

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

Don't have answers to all the questions raised by one of our posters but here goes nothing........

l. Who originally received the transition funding of $5 million. Was it the Municipality in '94; or Shelburne Park Development Agency (SPDA) in '96?
Answer - SPDA in 1995.
2. Which leads to, who was delegated to the SPDA as CEO and Board of Directors? Were they solely Municipality of Shelburne personnel?
Answer - CEO throughout its operation was Hugh MacKay and Board was a mix. Here is the list of the last grup on the Board....
Bruce christie, Gordon Patton (Vice Chairman), Bob Guay, Donald Bower,Garnet Hogg,Pat Nickerson, Jack MacLean (Chair),Dana Dares (Treasurer)
3. When SPDA handed the Base (with its assets, monies, properties, and mandate) over to SWSDA in '99 what remained of the $5 mil. after 3 yrs. in SPDA's hands?
Answer Some $500,000 in cash and another $500,000 I believe was held by Movie Company that sued SPDA and then SWSDA. Suit dragged on for five or six years. Don't know what happened to second $500,000. Court documents are available at Supreme Court for the curious.
4. What actions created the "purported" debt the Municipality of Shelburne owes SWSDA?
Answer Don't know but would assume that it was the product of another secret deal that elected officials refuse to talk about but I am told have legal opinions about. For those who there, you will remember Raymond Davis talking about it during the dust up about the Boys School and the Base when Reg Ridgley and Paulette wanted to buy the two. I always assumed that part of the reason for this effort was to facilitate the burial of this debt and avoidance of SWSDA's threatened lawsuit.
5. How has that affected the working relationship between SWSDA and the Municipality of Shelburne? This question leads to many possible scenarios.

Answer Pat Nickerson and Paulette Scott were VERY CLOSE WITH FRANK ANDERSON.
6. Did Nickerson and Scott release their SWSDA related paperwork to the municipality when they "departed", or is it still in their possession?
Answer Don't think so.... someone should ask Pat....here's her email..... panmen@ns.sympatico.ca

Access to Information

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO GATHER THEIR OWN INFORMATION.....

Filing applications for information from Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments is easy.

You will find the forms for filng requests to provincial and municipal bodies is easy. Just go to http://www.foipop.ns.ca/forms.html and you will find the forms to file your applications. Provincial filing cost is $25.00. Depending on the department they might not even charge you.

If you go to http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tbsf-fsct/350-57-eng.asp you can download the Federal form... Federal filing cost is only $5.00.... a real bargain.

Need help? Let me know......

TEN COMMANDMENTS A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Here are my Ten Commandments for an Effective RDA.

Maybe if each of you write or contact your representative and ask them to help us either re-shape SWSDA to conform to these Commandments or create our own RDA with these attributes we can start controlling and directing more effective and efficient development efforts in our communities.

1. Thou shalt not lie to taxpayers.

2. Thou shalt not make decisions in secret.

3. Thou shalt provide every one of your citizens, young and old, with an opportunity to contribute to the identification of the priorities of development in the community.

4. Thou shalt create accountability systems to measure, monitor and report on the activities of the RDA in a timely manner.

5. Thou shalt seek to build consensus and be inclusive in implementing development strategies.

6. Plan for the future and adjust those plans as time progresses in a regular and timely fashion based on evaluations that include qualitative and quantitative measurement of performance and progress.

7. Thou shalt encourage innovation, optimum use of local resources and entrepreneurship.

8. Thou shalt seek constructive and creative leadership that empowers citizens.

9. Seek to optimize effectiveness, efficiency and economy in all your activities.

10. Thou shalt hold staff and elected officials accountable and devise systems that ensure the ethical operation of your development organization.

Our Own RDA?!?

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A LITTLE HISTORY.....

As I understand it, back in the mid nineties the Feds decided they wanted out of their obligations for naval bases here and they helped set up locally-managed organizations under ACOA's watchful eyes to assume responsibility and take over the facilities and properties in each community. Two of those were Cornwallis and Shelburne and each received $5,000,000 to help them in their transition.

By 1997 rumblings in Cornwallis from the local community resulted in the return of the control of the former base to ACOA whose man then went about setting up policies and a management structure for development of the former Cornwallis Base properties. Eventually the mandate was handed back to an open, accountable and dynamic group of interested citizens. The rest is history.

Here in Shelburne, the Shelburne Park Development Agency operated for three years and handed over its properties, assets, monies and mandate to SWSDA in the spring of 1999.

QUESTION

Would Shelburne County be better off with their own RDA?

Here are the facts:

1. SWSDA is the only RDA that covers municipalities in three counties. Most cover only one county.

2. Guysborough with far less population than Shelburne County has its own RDA.

3. The socio-economic base of Yarmouth is very different from Shelburne County.

4. Yarmouth has seized control of SWSDA with its inter-locking directorates and agencies including the Yarmouth Port Authority, Yarmouth Airport Authority, Yarmouth Industrial Commission and assorted other bodies.

5. SWSDA has encouraged the politicization of our development authority and with its larger population Yarmouth-based politicians dominate Shelburne County through SWSDA.

6. SWSDA's penchant for secrecy has resulted in the failure to adequately inform municipal politicians who are not on SWSDA's Board. I am told that Pat Nickerson's records respecting SWSDA were not held in the Municipality's filing systems and I have heard Paulette Scott refuse to divulge SWSDA information to Council or taxpayers because she was sworn to secrecy.

7. I am told that SWSDA and the Municipality agree that the Municipality of Shelburne's taxpayers owe SWSDA millions of dollars and that the purported debt has been held over the Municipality's head. I have asked for confirmation about this supposed debt but been told it is confidential. I do know that a few years ago the SWSDA Board agreed to initiate proceedings to sue the Municipality over the supposed debt.

Personally, I think Shelburne County should have its own RDA. Indeed, if necessary and should we not be able to convince western Shelburne county to join us, we could still justify our RDA in eastern Shelburne County.... We have as much population as Guysborough's RDA.

Boys School Advertising

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Inquiring Minds Want to Know.....

One of the comments posted today wondered about the marketing effort and advertising that was done for the sale of the Boys School. Here's the information that is available. Remember.... this is after Mr. Anderson had gone to Toronto and Vegas to hone his real estate management and development skills. (More about Vegas later.)

Advertising Expenses reported in Frank Anderson's affidavit in the Fraudulent Conveyance case brought against SWSDA show that the RDA spent $2,898.08 on advertising in 2006 and 2007.

As near as I can figure out, $86 dollars was spent in May 2006, and $365.97 in April 2007 (after the property had been sold).... the balance was spent on advertising for the "Call for Proposals" in the Coast Guard, Vanguard and Chronicle Herald in February and March 2007.

Mr. Anderson's affidavit also shows expenses in May 2006 of $12,631.26 under what is euphemistically called "Marketing Projects" paid to VIBE Marketing and Communication, one of the MacDonnell Group of companies at the time.

The total of these two ($15,529.34) was paid for out of the $600,000 provided SWSDA as a "Maintenance Fund" for the Boys School provided by the Department of Economic Development in September 2005.

Get the Blog to Be More Productive......

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My purpose in starting this blog was to showcase areas of SWSDA 's management that I believed would be enhanced with better management, transparency and accountability. To do so, I've shown samples and highlighted examples of what I view as abuse and improper use of public resources. Unfortunately getting people angry enough to do something about a situation that everyone is ignoring is often the only way to get the proverbial ball rolling. In part that exercise was designed to identify failures in the management of SWSDA and to challenge SWSDA's Board and municipalities to reign in and make accountable SWSDA's Board and staff.... especially Mr. Anderson.

The end result as evidenced by many of the comments postings is shock, outrage and anger against individuals. The need now is to recognize the problems with SWSDA's present governance and lack of public accountability and to move forward with solutions to fix the abuses and poor management while generating efforts to enhance public scrutiny and access to the inner workings of SWSDA.

A LITTLE HISTORY ...... AND ...... READING HANSARD...... in the mid-90s government held public consultations throughout the province. The public then told government that what was needed in rural communities were local organizations who could increase the ability of local groups and individuals in communities to plan, manage and develop themselves. Hence the original concept for RDAs.

RDAs were not to do development ... they were to help local communities to develop their own capacity to develop themselves. If communities needed to learn how to do business plans, RDAs would not do the plans but ensure local communities got the support necessary to learn how to do it themselves. If communities needed to do strategic planning, RDAs were to help them develop the skills and provide the technical assistance to enable residents of local communities to do that.

NOT WHAT WE GOT..... SWSDA does not build local development management capacity.... it stifles it by taking over the job and the associated money to do the work and/or recruit additional resources and then plays ponzi games with the funds behind closed doors with little accountability.

THE RESULT...... Shelburne County has less capacity to manage its own development now than it did 15 years ago.

The annual planning process... undertaken by SWSDA is a farce and produces no additional capacity or opportunity for local involvment in local development. A four hour meeting with two dozen local people "managed" by fifteen SWSDA staff and Board members once a year is simply a sop provided by SWSDA to meet its obligations to ACOA and the Department of Economic Development to "consult" with local communities. Worse still, no analysis is done before hand and shared with local populations and an agenda for discussing intelligently specific areas of interest is never prepared, available or followed. Nor is there any further analysis or planning done after the four hour session that is held once a year.

THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE .... and Shelburne County is not the only one to suffer from this abusive and non-constructive process managed by SWSDA's present crew of Directors and staff.

THE WORK BEING DONE BY EMILY TIPTON IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF SHELBURNE IS MORE LIKE THE EFFORT THAT NEEDS TO BE UNDERTAKEN HERE IF COMMUNITIES ARE SERIOUS ABOUT TAKING CONTROL OF THEIR OWN DEVELOPMENT.

Much more needs to be done by Emily and the community but it is nonetheless a beginning. I hope it won't get side-tracked by those with unfulfilled political ambitions who work for the municipality. I urge the newly elected warden and council of the municipality to keep on working at it..... you are on the right track.

My appeal ... to readers as we move forward is for positive recommendations to fix this broken, sorry excuse for a community development agency called SWSDA.

THE MORE IDEAS THE BETTER..... LET'S HEAR SOME!!

In the meantime I will continue to pepper you with examples of the problems generated by the sorry state of the governance of SWSDA....... I await your thoughtful comments.

Tomorrow I'll be talking about SWSDA's other staff members..... I can hardly wait to tell you stuff......

Ed

Handwritten Receipts.....

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It happens sometimes........

I've traveled enough to know that sometimes a receipt is lost or somone gives you a receipt with no information on it.... In those circumstances staff filing expense claims normally explain what happened and a note attached to the claim by the staff member generally suffices to accept the claim.....

On the other hand blank receipts often happen with taxi drivers in my experience.... they do it because it permits their passengers to inflate receipts, often resulting in larger tips for the taxi driver...... Heck, I even had a taxi driver in London once give a guy I was traveling with a dozen blank receipts with his signature on them... when I got back to the office we had a good laugh about it because one of my staff came back and filed his expense claim including a pile of dummy receipts.... he never figured out how I knew that he had made a terrible mistake... one that ended up on his personnel file.

Folks who double dip in my experience generally get caught at some point....... handwritten receipts or not..... at some point people start asking questions.... often with good cause. I can't believe Mr. Anderson would do that ... however, if folks want to see if there is double dipping here, the only way would be to compare expense claims over certain periods of time..... Interested parties should seek to get copies of Mr. Anderson's travel expenses from other organizations.

JUST THE FACTS SIR........!!

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I've just reluctantly rejected a post.

I did so because I was worried it crossed the line of fair comment, making statements and drawing conclusions unsupported by facts, when raising questions about the issues might have been more productive. To Fred, you are right, these are public lands and their sale should be done in a fair and transparent fashion. Sorry I didn't feel right including all of your thoughts in this public blog. I hope it won't discourage you from continuing to be engaged.

Ed

Psst.... Did I mention?

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SWSDA - BI-POLAR? ...... NAW.....!!!!

Just a short post.... forgot to mention.....

For those who have been watching SWSDA for a while.... indeed .... going back to the days when Pat Nickerson was Warden and Rod Rose's Co-Chair at SWSDA, the organization has maintained that it was an RDA when it was convenient ..... or ...... a Society when being an RDA would have forced them to be more transparent and accountable.....

The debate continues today as evidenced by the fight and the call for the RCMP when Timothy Gillespie and Darrian Huskilson dared to suggest that based on Justice Hood's decision, SWSDA was a "municipal body" controlled and directed by the municipalities and that meetings should be open to the public.

Mr. Anderson with his hired hands, Gavin Giles, Q.C. and Robert Belliveau, Q. C. , Senior Partners and litigators in McInnis Cooper beavered away with their support staff and associates for more than two years arguing that SWSDA was not a public body, losing in the end. Even, after the decision Mr. Anderson is quoted as disingenuously saying he wasn't sure if what Justice Hood had concluded meant that SWSDA was a public body under municipal, provincial or federal law.

ODD..... THAT MR. ANDERSON'S RECEIPT AT THE TONY FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK LUXURY HOTEL IDENTIFIES HIM AS "GOVERNMENT OF NOVA SCOTIA " !!

WONDER IF HE OBJECTED AT THE TIME?

WHO COULD HAVE MISLEAD THE POOR FOLKS AT CORENET GLOBAL AND THE ROYAL YORK IN 2005 .... SURELY NOT MR. ANDERSON!! ..... WOULDN'T HAVE REGISTERED AS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF NOVA SCOTIA TO GET A DISCOUNT.... WOULD HE?

I'll check the receipts in Vegas to see how they have Mr. Anderson registered.....

Private Club Membership - Global Corenet

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Educating Our CEO!!

CoreNet Global is a career and relationship enhancing organization that purports to enable its members to excel as corporate real estate professionals. I have receipts that show we have paid for Mr. Anderson's membership for at least one year.

It is unclear how many years taxpayers have paid for Mr. Anderson's membership in Corenet Global or how many meetings of this organization he has attended. Our fearless CEO participated in two in 2005 - one in Toronto and the other in Las Vegas in 2005. Here's the Toronto one. More on the Las Vegas one in a future blog.

1. Membership Fees for May 2005 to April 2006 were $642.00

2. Airport Taxi Charges in Toronto include receipts for $25.00, $50.00, $55.00 and $20.00

3. Room Charges at The Fairmount Royal York @ $250.00 per night plus taxes as well as food and lounge charges from April 16, 2005 to April 20,2005 inclusive comes to $1,464.82.

4. A receipt for Jack Astor's Bar and Grill on April 20, 2005 totals $84.24 plus a handwritten tip for $15.00 and includes appetizers, 3 pizzas and 5 beers. There is no notation as to the purpose or who was being entertained at the airport at 6:38 PM.

5. An unidentified stub without a location, business name, date or purpose has the amount $35.00 written on it.

6. Included is a receipt for $100.00 that appears to be for a day trip to Niagara Falls as part of the Corenet Global program on April 17, 2005.

7. Also included is a bar receipt for 1 nacho, 5 bud, and a large Keiths for a total of $44.68 and a tip of $10.32 for a total of $55.00 at 3:27 PM on Apri 19, 2009.

8. A receipt for $38.00 for Airport Parking rounds out the trip expenses that we can identify.

A.) Total Identified Taxpayers Cost for Corenet Global Workshop in Toronto for Mr. Anderson Including Membership ........ $2,569.06
B.) Estimated airfare, mileage to Halifax and salary, overheads and benefits for Mr. Anderson .... $3,500.

Total Estimated Cost to Taxpayers this Trip +/- $6,000

Question: How did this real estate training program for Mr. Anderson contribute to his management of the care and sale of property on behalf of the municipalities he works for?

A Little Housekeeping!

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Over 2,800 hits in last three days!

Not only a lot of traffic but also... a lot of comments and questions. To clean up the page a bit I've tried to answer some of the questions raised in comments made by readers in the past couple days. I've copied the comments in abbreviated fashion to keep the volume down and tried not to lose the flavour of the posting in so doing. Hope I was successful. If youa re interested an have not sen the posted comments, they are available in their entirety following each of the blogs.

Many of you asked for information or made inquiries and I've tried as best I can to respond... Hope that works for everyone....

Here are the comments and responses......

Comment: This is an opportune time for Louise Halliday to speak up, and let the community hear her take on the situation within SWSDA.

Response: Warden Halliday took over the Chair of Team Shelburne after Darrian Huskilson resigned. When he resigned he wrote an open letter in the Coast Guard complaining about the manner in which the Boys School sale was managed. I am told that Louise Halliday has been working to make SWSDA more accountable; however, the stranglehold over the good governance of SWSDA has limited any improvements in accountability. In the meantime she and Brian Holland have tried to make Team Shelburne more transparent.

Since 2006/2007 members of Team Shelburne, often led by Darrian Huskilson have tried to make SWSDA accountable for management of the maintenance fund and the proceeds from the sale of the Boys School. If you go to the Municipality of Barrington’s web site (http://www.barringtonmunicipality.com/ you will find minutes of Team Shelburne meetings going back to June 2007 illustrating the ongoing efforts of the Shelburne municipalities.

Comment: Apathy appears not only applicable to the voters of Shelburne Co., but also to the Board of Directors, especially the Treasurer, of SWSDA.

Response: As Treasurer of SWSDA Darrian Huskilson tried on numerous occasions to make Mr. Anderson more accountable but without the support of others on the Board of Directors at the time.

Comment: I can see my boss's face if any of us claimed a beer here or there. He guarded the feds money as if it was his own. Where was the treasurer during all of this.

Response: I understand that when Mr. Husklison tried to make Mr. Anderson more accountable he was told by Rod Rose, Paulette Scott and others that he was over-stepping his authority. Actually, the first person responsible for supervising Mr. Anderson is the Chair and/or Co-chair of SWSDA according to their Bylaws. For the better part of the last 14 years that would have been Rod Rose, Pat Nickerson and Paulette Scott. Pat Nickerson is now allowed to attend SWSDA meetings as the non-voting representative for Gerald Keddy while the public is not allowed in.

Comment: Why isn't Mr. Huskilson speaking out about his removal? I can't figure that one out, as it seems he would want to clear his name in this mess, and not be seen as part of the problem. The solution to the whole thing is a change in the provincial government, and if Mr. Huskilson won't speak up, maybe Sterling will. I'm listening...

Response: Actually, Darrian Huskilson has spoken out repeatedly…indeed, he stood alone before the whole Board recently …. he did so at the recent meeting of the SWSDA Board held in Shelburne when he spoke out in favour of public access to SWSDA Board meetings. In fact, it was reported in the Coast Guard. Go to the SWSDA web page at http://www.swsda.com/index.php?p=press and you will see the article dated March 24, 2009….. as well as many other articles related to SWSDA’s doings….

The end result was the move of the next SWSDA meeting from Barrington to Yarmouth to avoid public pressure again in Shelburne…… Now I hear that SWSDA is talking about closing their office in Shelburne and holding all of their meetings in Yarmouth or Clare!

Comment: The land deals in Shelburne seem to be reason enough to have an audit done of SWSDA. It is election time, my suggestion is tell everyone you know to demand an audit of SWSDA, force Dexter and Mac Neil to back this demand.

Response: Both the NDP and the Liberals have asked for audits. I have been unable to move Eddie Nickerson ( a former SWSDA Board Member) to publicly push for an audit.

Comment: This is Provincial Money - Office of the Auditor General of Nova Scotia
Mr.Jacques Lapointe - lapoinjr@gov.ns.ca
This is Federal Money - Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Ms. Sheila Fraser - communications@oag-bvg.gc.ca
Send e-mails to both auditor generals and your mayors and wardens. Tell them what you think , I did.

Response: Here are the Board Members and their email addresses should you wish to ask questions or make suggestions.

Sherman Embree – warden@municipalityofshelburne.ca
Elizabeth Acker - cessam@ns.sympatico.caCecil Brannen – chh@eastlink.ca
Darian Huskilson – townoflockeport@ns.sympatico.ca
Louise Halliday – mobwarden@eastlink.ca
Bob Redding - rgr@reddingdrane.caRod Rose – rod.rose@ns.sympatico.ca
Roger King – roger@cassanet.com
Phil Mooney – mayor.mooney@yarmouth-town.com
Charles LeBlanc - cleblanc@munargyle.comTrevor Cunningham – trevor@district.yarmouth.ns.ca
Phil LeBlanc – imofoods@ns.sympatico.ca
Ronnie LeBlanc – If anyone has Ronnie LeBlanc’s email please send it in to the group.
Alain Lombard - alan.lombard@RBC.com

Here is the Department of Economic Development person in charge of RDA programs who has permitted SWSDA to get funding without complying with the Regional Communities Development Act. Write to him. Neal Conrad - nconrad@gov.ns.ca

Comment: The land deals in Shelburne seem to be reason enough to have an audit done of SWSDA. It is election time, my suggestion is tell everyone you know to demand an audit of SWSDA, force Dexter and Mac Neil to back this demand.

Response: See email addresses provided earlier.

Comment: Thanks for these email addresses. It will give us a chance to voice our dismay at what appears to be an RDA gone bad to the core.

Response: Actually the impact of the present governance of SWSDA effects all nine communities in Shelburne and Yarmouth Counties as well as Clare. Remember, this Board is governed by representatives selected by our nine municipal governments.

Comment: Yes, if they have an accountant sitting on the Board of Directors, how are these expenses escaping the Board's review, or does anyone review his expenses? …. Delaney doesn't have what it takes to improve matters within SWSDA. Wake up and smell the coffee people - cast your ballot wisely this time around! My vote goes to the man with the most answers or info on SWSDA - I'm listening, but not hearing anything - yet...

Response: Bob Redding sits on the Baord as a voting member selected by Shelburne Municipalties but I doubt he’s ever seen or asked to see Mr. Anderson’s expenses. Mr. Delaney campaigned on improving relations with SWSDA…. Hard to tell if his strategy is working with the talk about closure of the SWSDA office in Shelburne and the move of all future SWSDA Board meetings out of Shelburne County.

Comment: Fred, I wonder if anyone has the answer as far as a course of action the taxpayers of Shelburne Co. can take to make SWSDA accountable for their actions or inaction?

Response: There are always options. One of them is to get independent review of SWSDA’s Governance and actions. Over 500 people in Shelburne have asked the Provincial Ombudsman and I understand that review is underway. Another option is for Shelburne County folks to demand their own RDA … separate from SWSDA.

Comment: Am I the only poster who feels SWSDA's CEO shouldn't be attending political party functions? It seems risky having the CEO known to be a Tory supporter, with the chance of the NDP or Libs winning in this election. Is the CEO safe in keeping this position with a change in government, or can he be removed with just cause?

Response: I haven’t seen his contract so don’t know what provisions there are for his replacement. Send in a request for his contract and let me know what you think…. If you get a copy…..

Comment: If I had submitted claims like Frank I would have lasted at my job one month if that. The N.S. Gov Travel Expense Act:
"...fraudulent irregularity in the travel expense claim submitted by an employee, or any other misuse or misappropriation of funds, will result in disciplinary action, which may include termination..."

Response: I haven’t identified anyone within SWSDA in a supervisory position who has even looked at Mr. Anderson’s expenses…. Hard to take action if the information needed to act on is never compiled.

Comment: Now, how do we get all of these illegal expenses reimbursed to the SWSDA expense fund?. As for Darian, I am totally cross that you didn't speak out when you were removed as Treasurer, and extremely cross at your peers who didn't speak up in support of your demands.

Response: I agree that you should be cross with Darrian Huskilson’s fellow Board Members. However, over the past two years alone, he has spoken out repeatedly and it has been reported in the local press without any reaction from the public…. Sorry, after the Board of Directors and elected officials in our communities (Mayors, Wardens and Councillors) , the public has a fair measure of the blame lying at its doorstep for its failure to raise the issues forcefully and demanding that Mayor Huskilson be supported in his lonely battle.

Comment: I read on SWSDA's website that Darian Huskilson is the Treasurer, and Rod Rose is the Chairman. When was Darian removed? Who is the current Treasurer? Frank's too busy with fine dining to ensure his website is updated regularly me thinks. Was this Vegas trip SWSDA related? If not, why would he submit expenses during this travel?

Response: Darian ceased being Treasurer last summer I believe and I’m not sure who is acting as Treasurer at this time…..anyone out there know? Taxpayers pay for an expensive personal membership for Mr. Anderson in a private club….He was in Vegas for one of their meetings…. In 2005/2006 he attended one in Las Vegas and one in Toronto… both very expensive week-long affairs. More about this in a future blog

Comment: How could he and his wife spend 300 (plus 50 tip) on a meal at The Keg? That place isn't fine dining. Even with drinks it wouldn't add up. This had to be for more than two people eating out on our money.

Response: Can’t tell from expense slips since none of them have any information about the purpose or participants in any of these booze and food expenses.

Comment: This is unbelievable. Why haven't we heard of this before? I can imagine what the grand total would be from the mid 90's to 2009. Unreal. Why isn't the Coast Guard reporting this? Maybe Huskilson doesn't deserve our vote if he knew this was going on.

Response: Mayor Huskilson is the only one who has waged an ongoing battle to right these problems for some time without any help. Moreover, he has made sure the public was advised through his letters to the Editor and interviews with the Coast Guard, without any response or support from the public and nothing but ridicule from the Co-chairs of SWSDA – the former Wardens of Shelburne.

Comment: Is Shelburne's Mayor...hide from public view....Delaney overly cozy with the Teflon Don?

Response: Mayor Delaney ran on a platform of improving relationships with SWDA and Mr. Anderson and the folks in Shelburne supported him. Maybe you should ask him. Here’s his email address. alan.delaney@ns.sympatico.ca

Comment: Why haven't I seen anything about this in The Coast Guard, or Chronically Horrid, or even Frank Magazine?

Response: See articles posted on SWSDA site from newspapers and read Frank magazine’s latest article about the sell-off of prime properties at the old Naval Base. At an October 15, 2008 SWSDA Board meeting it is reported that Mr. Anderson thought he had a deal with the chronicle Herald not to publicize information about the Contempt Case against SWSDA and Mr. Anderson. When Bev Ware from Bridgewater wrote an article about it and it was published , Mr. Anderson claimed he was going to be “seeking answers on this matter from the head office of the Chronicle Herald."

Comment: I wonder if Canada Revenue Agency has been contacted to audit SWSDA expense accounts? They have a unit that travels around doing this sort of thing and they are relentless. It sounds like none of Anderson's poorly-documented claims would be accepted. He could owe a significant amount of money once they reach a judgment on how many of these are personal benefits and not legitimate expenses.

Response: Great idea….. who wants to contact them and sew the seed?

Comment: Who is Jason Hollet? The SWSDA website doesn't show him as a staff member. Is this because the website is outdated, or is he someone within the Tory party, or was he a possible investor in this area? Enquiring minds would like to know...

Response: Jason worked for SWSDA on an energy program. Don’t know what he is doing now.

Comment: I bet "Frank Does Europe", 13-22 Jun 05, cost us more than crystal from Austria, duty free booze, and Jason Hollett's $500 room expense. Did anything positive come out of this trip, or have I missed something? I assume the Norway binge was during another period, or were Hurlburt and Hood in on this one?

Response: I will be publishing about Mr. Anderson’s travel expense claims related to the Austrian trip. However, I do not know much about the purpose or results…… understand it may have been about twinning Clare with a community in Austria… but am not sure…. Can anyone in Clare answer the questions?

Comment: Mr. Cayer, When did this RDA start to go off the rails or has it always operated with the closed door policy?

Response: I am told by those who were involved that it was from day one and helped along in its early years by the Co-chair from Shelburne, Pat Nickerson.