TWO MORE WATERING HOLES
Mr. Anderson's travel expense receipts show that he also supports local establishments in and around Yarmouth with his late night EFFORTS.
Late into the evening.... two of his apparent favourite haunts are Rudders and the Rodd Grand in Yarmouth. Working late in one of these establishments is not uncommon for SWSDA's CEO....
Of the two, Mr. Anderson appears to prefer the ambiance at the Rodd, frequenting that establishment slightly more often and later at night.... often after 11:00 at night on behalf of the paying public! The poor man's work never seems to be done... does it?
But wait.... Some would point out however..... that frequency doesn't indicate preference! In this case, they might be right and here's the reason why.....
Mr. Anderson's travel and entertainment expense receipts for the 12 month period in question indicate that he's spent at least 25% more at Rudders!
Whoa.... but you might say Mr. Anderson tips more at the Hotel..... AND .... he does!
Well either way..... here's the real news .... and the real reason better scrutiny of these expenses might be called for. Between these two Yarmouth establishments... both a stone's throw away from perfectly good meeting facilities at SWSDA, taxpayers paid more than $2,500 for food and drink in the 12 months under review.... with average tips often over 25% and sometimes as high as 64%!
If one assumes the same pattern of expenditures in these Yarmouth establishments between 1997 and 2009 .... we're talking about some $32,500 in so-called "travel & entertainment" expenses to feed and water Mr. Anderson and the folks he's entertaining in these two establishments ... ALONE.....
....On our dime in Yarmouth.... and an estimated $8,125 in tips for wait staff .....!!! THEY MUST LOVE SEEING HIM ARRIVE.... Potential impact on socio-economic development throughout Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties and Clare....PRICELESS....
Oh.... and I haven't mentioned the blank, undated receipt tear-off chits with hand-written amounts of $50, $60 and $70 dollars (Mr. Anderson seems to like rounding off numbers) at the Austrian Inn... a few clicks down the road from Mr. Anderson's home ... that taxpayers have paid for ... or other local "expenses"......
YOU KNOW.... $25,000 HERE..... $32,500 THERE..... and before you know it..... you could be talking REAL MONEY over the years! Sorry dear reader... writing about this stuff seems to stimulate my sarcastic bent.
When I see stuff like this... unchecked and oftentimes it appears .... assisted by those responsible... folks we elect and finance to do the right thing.... it leaves me shaking my head.
It almost seems to me that those who should have been guarding and protecting our interests have seen this as the way to do business and support development in the past. A little like the rum & chocolates-laced elections of the not-so-distant past in Nova Scotia.
My call is to those on the Board and in our municipal Councils who have a genuine concern about getting better value-for-money from our RDA and our development investments... to stop this approach to management of our affairs.
I BELIEVE CHANGE IS IN THE AIR.... and .... it will come by cooperation or confrontation... either way ... my advice is... better to select the preferred path and lead the change ...
Those who try to resist public pressure by excluding the public, frustrating public access, changing meeting venues, increasing secrecy and back-room deals and extending the bunker mentality of SWSDA and our municipalities.... will likely suffer the consequences......of choosing confrontation!BELIEVE ME.... I THINK FOLKS HAVE HAD ENOUGH .... DON'T YOU? AND THOSE WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE HAD BEST TAKE NOTE....
When you're my age you still marvel at technology that seemed far-fetched not so long ago..... ALREADY, THIS LITTLE BLOG ALONE.... THAT STARTED ONLY FOUR WEEKS AGO .... HAS HAD MORE THAN ..... 21,642 PAGE VIEWS BY READERS ... HUNDREDS OF THOUGHTFUL COMMENTS FROM READERS ... WHO ARE NOW DEVELOPING COFFEE CLUBS AND INTERNET SOCIAL NETWORKS ..... OUR AUDIENCE IS NOW LOCATED IN 39 CITIES IN CANADA, 10 COUNTRIES & 8 STATES IN THE U.S.
If that is what we can do in 4 weeks .... simply by supplying information to people.... IMAGINE.... what can we do over the summer or over the next year to undo the damage done in the past 14 years by lack of accountability and transparency on the part of SWSDA, its Board and our municipal councils
Oh... and those that don't believe ... shouldn't under-estimate the public's tenacity or attention.... nor mine!
