CLEVER!!!! .... THAT'S WHAT HE IS!

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

JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT WE WERE ON THE RIGHT TRACK....

In my last posting.... I said SWSDA was going to disappear....

Guess I jumped the gun.... You'd think I would know better.....

In SWSDA's world.... nothing is as it appears!!

In fact dear reader.... Mr. Anderson not only doesn't intend to let SWSDA disappear.... he wants it to multiply like a rabbit according to my sources....!!

Reporters close to the scene indicate that not only does Mr. Anderson intend to keep the present SWSDA alive but he plans on creating a second SWSDA incorporated under the Regional Communities Development Act....!!

Sounds like a bad Science Fiction B- Movie.... if Mr. Anderson and his cohorts have their way, we'll have SWSDA I and SWSDA II.... !! A morphing job .... no one expected....!!

Can you imagine.... how creative is that!!!

Whatever SWSDA I can't do.... Mr. Anderson and his crew will be able to do as SWSDA II if they have their way......

AND....imagine how creative Mr. Anderson and others can be with the accounting systems, book entries and account keeping with two SWSDA's .... one that can own land and another that can't one that is separate and unencumbered by being a municipal body and one that can funnel money to the other.... wow... how neat is that!!!

Sorry folks..... I think if you want to re-define RDAs in this region and the support they provide our communities and citizens in their pursuit of social and economic development.... this is too important an exercise to have it conducted under the aegis or watchful eye of those who've led us down this path already.....SWSDA and its staff and unaccountable Board of Directors.

Lets take control of this process as concerned citizens and make sure that the politicians understand our intent to get this done right.

SWSDA TO DISAPPEAR!

SO SAYS... THE NEW DEPUTY MINISTER!

In a letter dated May 26, 2009 Mr. Ian Thompson the new Deputy Minister over at Economic and Rural Development (ERD)advises SWSDA and Municipal Members of SWSDA's Board that they must be incorporated under the Regional Communities Development Act passed into law twelve years ago in 1997 to receive future funding. Below is a copy of the three page letter that I understand most councils will be considering in the coming days and weeks.

Read his letter and let me know your views. Any idea what to expect? Click on each page to expand...

See http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/statutes/regioncd.htm for a copy of the Act.

Do you think municipal councils should hold public meetings to consult with taxpayers before they make decisions about the future of RDA's in our communities.

Which communities should future RDA's represent?...

The same nine .... presently controlled by SWSDA?

Communities in Shelburne County alone?
Should we have an RDA for Eastern Shelburne County and one for Western Shelburne County? Who should decide this and how?

LETS TALK ABOUT THIS PUBLICLY.... and make sure politicians understand what taxpayers want and where they see their future.

BTW... what happens to the more than $500,000 in guarantees provided to SWSDA by municipalities if SWSDA no longer exists?

Anyone know who ends up holding the money from the Boys School Consent Order? The $1.75 million mortgage on the base.... who owes the $475,000 mortgage to the Province for the Base..... and what about the money owed to SCBDC by SWSDA.... so many questions so few answers....

I think we should get a few .... (answers that is)

BEFORE.... FOLKS GO OFF DOING THEIR OWN THING WITHOUT TALKING TO THOSE OF US WHO SEEM TO KEEP PICKING UP THE PIECES!!

No more secret meetings and no more secret commitments made by unaccountable folks and bodies......

Here are key points to note from the letter.

1. In order to qualify for the performance based funding in the 2009-2010 fiscal year a new RDA will have to be incorporated under the Regional Communities Development Act.

2. In order to be incorporated under the Act, a municipality or group of municipalities must submit a formal written request to the Minister seeking incorporation of an RDA in our community or communities.

3. The request to the Minister must spell out:

(a) the name of the agency and it must be distinct and different from the present RDA's name;
(b) the regional community for which the agency may exercise powers;
(c) the municipalities that are to be represented on the agency;
(d) the number of members on the agencys board of directors to be appointed by the councils of the participating municipalities;
(e) the number of members of the agencys board of directors to be representatives of the regional communitys economic sectors and other relevant groups;
(f) the term of office of members of the board of directors of the agency and the conditions under which members of the board of directors cease to be members of the board;
(g) the proportions in which each of the participating municipalities shall contribute to and provide the funds required to meet the expenses of the agency, subject to the participating municipalities ability to approve its contribution on an annual basis;
(h) the date when the contribution of each participating municipality is to be paid to the agency;
(i) the officers and organization of an agency and how and when meetings of the agency are to be held and the business of the agency transacted;
(j) the fiscal year of the agency.

4. Accompanying the letter should be a copy of the proposed bylaws of the new RDA.

5. Any RDA established under the Act will be a new corporate body and will require a new name to replace the existing SWSDA name.

6. Boards are to be drawn from the broader community and should be representative of the demographic mix in the community.

7. The new performance based funding model adopted by the Department of Economic and Rural Development is designed to bring more accountability and transparency to the operations of agencies funded by the Province.

8. Lack of performance may be grouns to dis-establish an RDA.

Remember, under the Act.... RDA's are not allowed to own land.....