SWSDA AGM

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Dear Reader:

Sorry for the long hiatus between posts.... lots of excuses..... even some good reasons! Now we are truly back....... so ..... have a seat and a read and lets get this accountability blog back in stride.

Ed

GATHERING NEWS

You will recall that SWSDA indicated that the upcoming AGM would be presented with a number of amendments to the bylaws as well as the audited financial statements of the organization.

QUESTIONS -

1. Will Board members have these documents available well before the AGM so they can review them and seek direction from their respective municipal councils?

2. Given the Deputy Minister's correspondence requiring all RDAs (including SWSDA) to be incorporated now under the Rural Communities Development Act, what purpose is served by amending SWSDA's bylaws under the Societies Act since SWSDA the Society will no longer be an RDA and no longer will be eligible for core funding as an RDA at the end of this fiscal year?

3. Will the proposed changes to the SWSDA bylaws create future obligations for the present members of the Board?

4. Has the Agenda for the AGM been circulated and has a date been set for the meeting?

5. Has SWSDA prepared a transition plan or proposal for consideration by the Board?

6. How will the present legal obligations, debt and assets of SWSDA the Society be dealt with when one or more RDAs are created to replace the old SWSDA?

7. Will municipalities be asked to provide the $506,000 in guarantees now pledged to SWSDA the Society to the new RDA or RDAs?

8. What happens to the $506,000 in municipal guarantees presently pledged for SWSDA the Society?

9. What happens to the $84,000 in additional guarantees presently provided by the Municipality of Shelburne for SWSDA?

10. What happens to the money owed by SWSDA to the Shelburne County Business Development Corporation?

Questions..... lots of questions..... anyone got answers?

In my experience SWSDA likes to make changes and get approvals from an inattentive Board in the middle of the summer.... let's hope that isn't permitted to happen again this year.

Ask your representative on the SWSDA Board..... and while you are at it let's make sure that only real Board members get to vote.... not proposed Board members or alternates who don't legally have a vote......

And So.... We Begin Anew.......

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Dear Reader,

Thank you for your patience, as I recover from my brief sojourn at the Maritime Heart Centre. I'll save you the details but suffice it to say that I am glad to be back and looking forward to the summer to do research, read, write and share with you information gathered and views expressed by folks....... Stay tuned......

DEPUTY MINISTER REPLIES

Further to my request for more information about the Evaluation of SWSDA last year, here is the reply I received from Mr. Thompson upon my return. Take a good look at the DM's reply and watch for copies of the evaluation and my comments in tomorrow's blog.

In particular, I recommend that you note Mr. Conrad's contact information ..... should you have additional questions after you've had a chance to read the info provided today and tomorrow........

Things You Should Read!

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AND........ QUESTION!!!

Following is the url for the latest minutes from SWSDA's meeting of May 27th...... Take a look and ask yourself if it answers or raises more questions.

http://www.swsda.com/index.php?p=know

Want more information?

Ask SWSDA for copies of documents and answers to your questions or send your requests to your municipal representatives..... or simply post them here as comments and I'll send them off when I get back from my brief hospital visit..... (;-)

ENJOY THE MINUTES......

New Blog!

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As promised..... I've launched the new blog and look forward to developing it over the summer with input from readers.... take a look and pass it on to others.....

http://www.shelburnecitizendrivendevelopment.blogspot.com/

Can We Afford Our Own RDA?

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For some time now I have listened to SWSDA and others deride the possibility of Shelburne having its own RDA. The primary reason given has been that we can't afford our own RDA.....

Frankly.... I don't know what a REAL RDA would cost since we've never had one... however, according to my own .... off the top of my head calculations ..... we have more than enough resources to create and successfully operate our very own development agency in Shelburne County.....

Indeed..... if push comes to shove..... we might even be able to run more than one in Shelburne County......

I haven't done all the sums but here are some preliminary figures showing funding of development and SWSDA just from the Municipality of Shelburne's financial statements over the past decade..... and I know there is more that I haven't been able to identify! I suggest the other municipalities in Shelburne County might want to take a look at their former contributions to SWSDA and for development purposes!

Here are totals I've added up for MOS .....

1998 - $12,047
1999 - $15,094
2000 - $ 73,512
2001 - $91,377
2002 - $284,429
2003 - $212,305
2004 - $269,668
2005 - $171,860
2006 - $115,567
2007 - $98,094
2008 - $105,901

Total - $1,449,854

Plus.... the Municipality of Shelburne has provided a guarantee of a loan to SWSDA for some $84,105 since 2004 and we have been paying the interest on that loan on behalf of SWSDA... It is not clear what the interest rate is but it presumably is one or two points over prime.

Plus .... the Municipality of Shelburne provides a guarantee of $61,500 on SWSDA's line of credit with the Royal Bank in Yarmouth.....

Plus ..... the Municipality of Shelburne recently provided SWSDA with an additional grant to compensate for its inability to increase its guarantee of SWSDA's indebtedness, provided a grant to SWSDA for its taxes in 2008/2009, provided another grant for its share of core funding for this fiscal year.... Plus, Plus, Plus!

Plus ..... the Municipality has provided and continues to provide SWSDA with grants and or contributions for a range of reasons including volunteer programs, etc.

Plus.... I am not certain if the numbers provided above include the monies contributed by the Municipality for construction of the Ocean Ventures Boat Shop at the Base or the Sound Stage.....

Anyway...... you get the idea..... it appears to me that SWSDA has been like a suckling pig at the teat of the Municipality of Shelburne since its inception with the complicit support of Wardens Nickerson and Scott over these many years..... SWSDA's former Co-chairs!

Thank God for the Shelburne Concerned Citizens revolution of a few years ago that stopped the former Wardens and our "Acting CAO of the Day" Reg Ridgely from pouring more of our hard earned money into the maw of SWSDA!

Question..... given the monies spent on SWSDA by the Municipality of Shelburne alone in the past.... and without getting down and counting the money spent by the other four municipalities in Shelburne County..... why can't we afford our own RDA?

A funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heart Surgery!

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For those of you who have kindly wished me well .... Thank you....

I guess a medical update is due and here it is... Last Wednesday at precisely 10:00 AM an ambulance backed into the emergency doors of Roseway Hospital and loaded yours truly into the back of the vehicle.... My journey to Halifax for open heart surgery on Thursday morning was about to begin and although filled with some trepidation, I was looking forward to having it completed and beginning rehabilitation.... and posting in earnest!

For those of you who have never had the pleasure .... ambulance rides from Shelburne to Halifax are bumpy and uncomfortable despite the caring hands of those in the "bus"..... an hour later we were entering Port Mouton when the ambulance slowed down and eventually pulled over to the side of the road....lying there, my mind went through a series of reasons why they might be stopping... including a stop for coffee... When the attendant came to the back of the ambulance, he sat down and advised me that they had just received a call advising them to return to Shelburne and Roseway.... my surgery had been cancelled because the QE2 had two heart transplants that they were working on and all other surgery would have to be re-scheduled.

Since then, we have waited for the call from Halifax and last night I was advised that I would leave Shelburne Monday morning and that my surgery was now scheduled for Tuesday June 30th!

Sooo.... here I am folks making some last minute postings to you and filling you in on what's happening.

So much to share and so little time.....

Keep posted.....

Pause Before the Break

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Well Dear Reader,

You will likely have noticed that while last week's postings from your humble servant were significant, the volume of posting's has slowed down somewhat. Two primary reasons. First, I have been a guest at Roseway Hospital since last Monday and getting access to the Internet has been a challenge...

Second, I am working on a new blog that I hope to launch on July 1st.... it will I hope, provide insight and a serious forum for the discussion of the future development of Shelburne County and the provision of opportunities for generations to come. I will launch that with a Primer on RDAs, with a quick historical perspective and information about how the original concept produced by extensive consultation with local communities in the mid-nineties was turned on its head by SWSDA and their crew.

As for the SWSDA Accountability blog, I propose to maintain it and keep reporting news and views until after our communities have sorted out the mess visited upon us by years of neglect by elected officials and secrecy and backroom dealing by SWSDA and the failure of the present agencies who are responsible for development in this region at the local and provincial levels.

Today, I want to post a couple items in keeping with past postings.

The first is Frank Anderson's Job Description .....

.... that I recently received from SWSDA. I invite you to note that fully a third of his job description as seen by Mr. Anderson falls under the rubrique "Security Functions". Whoever prepared this job description must have been copying from Dick Cheney's book on terrorism and scaring people..... .

It is hard to imagine that fully a third of the job description of a self-described "CEO" of a community development agency in Nova Scotia would fall under the title Security Functions....you'd think .... he was working in the ghettos of LA with gang bangers!

The Second is a comparison of financial reports from SWSDA ....respecting the monies remaining from the sale of the Boys School.

The critical factors to observe here are the following......

1. The date covered are significant. The first column reports expenses from April 1, 2005 to May 31, 2007. It does not include the $550,000 reportedly paid by Mr. MacDonnell for the Boys School. Unfortunately for Mr. Anderson, you should note that the school was not transferred to SWSDA until September 6, 2005 so any expenses reportedly included by Mr. Anderson in this statement for maintenance of the Boys School prior to that date should not charged to the Boys School funds.

2. The second Column reports expenses from April 1, 2005 to July 31, 2007. Unfortunately this report from Mr. Anderson not only includes expenses on maintaining the school before it was acquired by SWSDA from the Province as well as maintenance expenses attributed to the Boys School funds, 34 days after the sale of the boys school property This statement also includes the $550,000 from the sale of the Boys School on June 26, 2007.

3. The third column reports maintenance expenses again from April 1, 2005 (five months before the property was acquired by SWSDA) to September 30, 2007 (three months after the property was sold). Please note that Mr. Anderson has not added interest on this money in his calculation since July 2007.

4. The final column reports expenses from May 1, 2005 to March 31, 2008 - nine months after the Boys School property was sold. Please note that Mr. Anderson has not added interest on this money in his calculation since July 2007

This information is important because at the present time Mr. Anderson has argued that his continued use of the Boys School sales proceeds and maintenance fund are legitimate expenses of SWSDA..... go figure!!

Soooo .....why aren't any of our municipalities raising a stink about this??

Of course.... there are many more problems with this accounting by Mr. Anderson..... none that a forensic audit wouldn't solve!

In closing... I've got bad news and good news....

The good news is that I now believe that the Municipality of of Shelburne does not owe SWSDA Millions of dollars!!!

This has been more smoke and mirrors from the pro himself......

More about that next time I blog....

The bad news is that ...... I won't be able to post for the next week..... I am going to take a little forced R&R and give my body up to science for a few days.....

I'll tell you all about that next week.... in the meantime I have made arrangements to post comments as they are received..... soooo keep those cards and letters coming....

Your humble servant,

Ed

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

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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.....

!!! FLASH!!!FLASH!!!FLASH!!!

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NEW BROOM - LAUNCHES NEW RDA OPPORTUNITY

THREE CHEERS FOR THE NEW DEPUTY MINISTER.....

FINALLY SENSIBLE ACTIVITY, UNFILTERED BY FRANK ANDERSON AND HIS COHORTS AT SWSDA!

Ian Thompson the new Deputy Minister of the Department of Economic Development wrote to municipal members of SWSDA, Frank Anderson and Rod Rose on May 26, 2009 with an announcement about new rules for Provincial funding of RDAs. In his letter Mr. Thompson did what the Department has failed to do for twelve years.... terrific letter.... now lets see if municipal and provincial leaders do the right thing with it...

Municipal Councils have been secretive about the correspondence but in the last few days sources in Yarmouth, Halifax and Shelburne have become more forthcoming with copies.

Check out this site Saturday evening or Sunday morning for a copy of the letter and my blog on the issue

You may want to consider talking to your Councillor, Mayor or Warden about how to deal with this new opportunity.... and how folks here expect them to start doing the right thing by local taxpayers.

LETS GET THIS DISCUSSION INTO THE PUBLIC AND OUT OF BACKROOM SECRET MEETINGS!

A Dissenting Voice...Should be Heard...

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Dear Anonymous:

Thank you for your thoughtful note.

And, of course you are right. My comments about RDA's generally, SWSDA in particular and Mr. Anderson especially are laced with sarcasm, ridicule and more than a bit of outrage. However, I fear that my writing style has distracted you from assimilating the facts that my postings are all about. For that failure I am sorry.

You are within your rights to believe what you will about Mr. Anderson, SWSDA or RDAs in our Province, as I am within my rights to publish factual information and my views about their use or what I see as possible abuse of public funds and what I consider to be a failure to do the job they claim to do with our money. Then again, you are of course free not to read about the issues I think important or my concern about public bodies and officials who operate in secret, using our resources.

As for stumbling across my blog, I am not sure how to respond to that comment.... hard to imagine how one "stumbles" over an address like www.swsdaaccountablity.blogspot.com.

Oh, by the way, my vitriol has been saved for SWSDA alone .... so far. I have asked questions about another public organization using public monies that claims to operate under a public mandate (the Nova Scotia Association of Regional Development Authorities) but fails to file its financial statements when required. This from an organization that claims to be working to enhance the professionalism of RDAs and their staff.

So dear anonymous... there you have it... I've posted your unsigned note, taken your comments to heart as your view of the world and urge you not to read this blog again if it causes you pain.

Alternatively, if you feel strongly enough about the privacy of RDA staff and the need to make RDAs accountable, as you claim, I urge you to sit down and start your own blog that supports the fine work of RDAs and our Provincial agencies. You can be sure that should I stumble over it and should I disagree with your views that I might well comment and sign my name.

So, dear anonymous.... have you figured out why I posted your comments? You may be surprised to discover that I think it is germane to the topic and apropos that we discuss your views in public.....

REASONS FOR VOTING!!!!

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Today is Election Day in Nova Scotia.....

PLEASE VOTE........

Before I left for Montreal on Sunday ....

I told you dear reader that I would tell you a bit ....about the Boys School Finances..... Here it is...!!

I will summarize but all of this information is public domain so our municipal, provincial and federal officials either have this or can get it.

Over the past couple of years SWSDA has generated financial reports about the Boys School, maintenance costs and revenues from the sale of its 21 buildings, 200 some acres of land and twenty acres of serviced and paved facilities for $550,000 to Ralston MacDonnell.... you know.... the Digby Pier Guy.... watch the time line and diminishing amount of money left over according to SWSDA and Mr. Anderson.

Here is a summary of revenues and expenses (which equal the Team Shelburne Fund) attached to Mr. Anderson’s June 19, 2007 letter to Brian Holland entitled “Shelburne Youth Centre Project Income Summary April 1, 2005 to May 31, 2007” that shows:

Province of NS $625,000.00
Interest Income $ 12,343.60
Other Income $ 2,696.50
Total Income $640,040.10
Reported Expenses $361,401.73 (Before sale of property.)
Revenues Minus Expenses $278,638.37

Here is a summary financial statement provided by SWSDA entitled “Shelburne Youth Centre Project Income Summary April 1, 2005 to July 31, 2007” that shows:

Province of NS $625,000.00
Sale of Property $550,000.00
Interest Income $ 16,190.35
Other Income $ 2,696.50
Total Income $1,193,886.85
Reported Expenses $402,189.58 (At July 31, 2007.)
Revenues Minus Expenses $791,697.27

Here is a summary financial statement provided by SWSDA entitled “Shelburne Youth Centre Project Income Summary 04/01/2005 to 03/31/2006” that shows:

Province of Nova Scotia $79,603.00
Province of Nova Scotia O.E. D. $25,000.00
Other Income $ 825.00
Total Income $105,428.00
Expenses $105,427.00
Revenues Minus Expenses $ .12


Here is a copy of the summary financial statement provided by SWSDA entitled “Shelburne Youth Centre Project Income Summary 04/01/2006 to 09/30/2007” that shows:

Province of NS $520,397.00
Sale of Property $550,000.00
Interest Income $ 16,190.35
Office Expense Transfers $ 200.00
Other Income $ 1,671.50
Total Income $1,088,458.85
Reported Expenses $306,103.00 (At September 30, 2007.)
Revenues Minus Expenses $782,355.85

Here is a copy of the financial statement provided by SWSDA entitled “Shelburne Youth Centre Project Income Summary April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2008” that shows:

Province of NS $625,000
Sale of Property $550,000
Interest Income $ 16,190.35
Other Income $ 2,696.50
Total Income $1,193,886.85
Reported Expenses $477,028.55
Revenues Minus Expenses $716,858.30

1. Keep an eye at what happens to interest payments over time.... (you will note that they end...)
2. Keep an eye on what happens to maintenance expenses for the Boys School.... AFTER IT WAS SOLD!........ remember .... it was sold on June 27, 2007......Nuff Said!

Go and vote and let's get things changed......

BOYS SCHOOL BAMBOOZLE?!?

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YOU COULD WRITE A BOOK ......

BUT EVERYONE WOULD THINK IT WAS FICTION!!

Tomorrow I've got a cheap flight to to Montreal but as soon as I get settled I promise to fill you in on a tonne of stuff...

I'll be there a week but am bring hard copy and electronic files with me so I can keep this blog alive.

IN THE MEANTIME....

I really would like to get more people involved in the blogging experience.... and I'll tell you why.....

Because I think our local media has failed us...... radio, TV, newspapers ... all of them. The fifth estate has died in this country for intents and purposes... and luckily the internet provides the perfect tool.

SOOO starting in the latter part of June I will be launching a second blog......called ....

ABOUT DEVELOPMENT ... for serious discussions about what we can do in our communities to optimize the potential we have to create opportunities and benefits for ourselves and our neighbours.... When I launch ABOUT DEVELOPMENT I'll be looking to engage folks in a constructive dialogue... without all the BS and politics and ideological debate that normally surrounds this most vital of topics.

Soo... stay tuned....

Ed

Predictions

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Predicting the Election!

I gave you my guess.... and today got a prediction for Loman Ayers.....

Here's what Loman thinks will happen.....
NDP --26
Lib -- 14
PC --11
IND -- 1

Write in with your prediction .... for the Province and for our region if you want...
With or without your name....

It should be interesting to see what people expect....

A good RDA....

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SWSDA and Mr. Anderson and Rod Rose have made that expression an oxymoron.

Hard to imageine a good RDA that either Mr. Rose or Mr. Anderson are involved with..... frankly hard to imagine the likes of many who are now involved.......

What would a good RDA do ..... in my humble opinion.... it would stop inserting itself into the development process as the power broker and help individuals and groups in their development efforts learn ahow to do it sfor themselves.


Of course, that's not what happens now.... Mr.Anderson has inserted himself into libaries, public access initiatives and or the internet, support for volunteers, employment of the unemployed and on and on.... it just doesn't seem to have an end.... I heard this week that the expansion of the library in Shelburne has been delayed while municipalities decide what to do... because SWSDA wanted to include an office for itself as part of the expenasion.

Yarmouth County

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Anyone want to comment on election in Yarmouth and prospects.... ???

For example....

If Hurlburt wins again and the Conservatives end up not even being the official opposition.... what will that do to Yarmouth's power base in the Province?

If Mooney wins.... and Liberals form the Official Opposition, who becomes the MLA in Cabinet from Yarmouth and area?

And... last but not least.... if David Olie wins... shock... bewilderment.. amazement.... would he get a Cabinet seat?

Share your views with the rest of the great unwashed...... it could be interesting.....

And regardless of who wins.... what impact do you think that will have on increased transparency and accountability?

Gone and Done It!!!

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Yep..... made a choice! One of the best things about living in a free country!

Wanna know who got my vote.... Naw..... SECRET..... that's the other nice thing about our country .... it permits the voters to vote for change or continuation of governments and/or representatives without fear of retribution... Great system..... if you use it!

Anyway, I've got a Sterling Belliveau sign and a Darian Huskilson sign on my lawn until the vote is over..... Sorry Eddie..... right now I want RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT ..... and to do that means the PCs have to lose.... BIG TIME!

Here's my projection of the vote..... using the same principals as I do at the race track.... I guess..... based on very little.....

NDP 27 seats
Liberals 18 seats
Conservatives 7 seats

Any other guesses.....

HI HO! Hi HO! Its off to vote I go!!!!

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ADVANCE POLLS ... TODAY....

Going to take advantage of the advanced polls today... don't want to miss the opportunity to cast my ballot and I want to encourage all of you dear readers to exercise your right, privilege and responsibility to cast your ballot to determine who will be given the mantle of responsibility for leading our civil affairs.

VERY IMPORTANT... BUT CAN BE TOUGH.

In my case, I am caught on the proverbial horns of a dilemma..... I know.... I know the old saying.... "that's why God gave economists two hands"..... ;) On the one hand this... on the other hand that....!!

Sterling Belliveau our present MLA has always responded to my requests and met with me without hesitation and listened attentively.... the result on one occasion was his request to the Auditor General to do an audit of SWSDA.... gotta respect that..... and his leader Dexter is a thoughtful, articulate responsible soul who has been diligent and respectful of the citizen community, even as he sat in opposition for those long, lean years. I have concerns about ideologues in all parties and I know that NDPers have their share of them.

I have watched Darian Huskilson wage a lonely battle with SWSDA in his efforts to protect the interests of the folks in Shelburne County as a member of SWSDA, Chair of Team Shelburne and Mayor of Lockeport. He has done so, while the previous Wardens Scott and Nickerson appeared to be doing everything they could to frustrate his efforts. ( During one Municipality of Shelburne meeting I even heard Nickerson indicate after Mr. Huskilson had left that she thought it was rude of Mr. Huskilson to appear before MOS Council while he still appeared to have oil on his hands.) Unfortunately, not one member of Council sitting at the table (including Ms Scott who was Chairing the meeting) demanded that she retract the statement or apologize. His party Chief MacNeil I know less well but I have been listening to him attentively too. I have concerns about the old time Liberals in the party who hanker for the old days when friends could be rewarded out of public coffers.

I have spoken a number of times with Eddie Nickerson and shared my views with him about SWSDA as the presumptive PC candidate, member of Barrington's Council and member of the SWSDA Board. Alas, I am not aware of those discussions prompting any action on his part. On the other hand, I have watched his leader Rodney MacDonald make a mockery of the concept of accountability while he dragged the province back to pre-John Buchanan days, increased secrecy, reduced transparency and first-at-the-trough approach to governing. He is a failed experiment and should return to Cape Breton to write his political memoirs while someone still remembers what he did. Unfortunately folks like Chris d'Entremount who I believe is a good man in the wrong party.... get tarred with the same brush... but 10 or 15 years in the hinterland might not be bad for this party.

SOOO.... who will I vote for....?

Can't tell... don't know and probably won't decide.... until I get into the booth.... a bit like going into a good restaurant... looking at the menu.... seeing one thing you definitely don't want and two things you like but aren't sure which would be better.....

Tough, eh? And the pressure's on!!

The Galling Thing!

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Have you ever ..... seen NSARDA's Testimony Before the House Committee on Economic Development?

Ever wonder .... how long this has been going on?

Interested in taking a peek... at Mr. Anderson and Mr. Hurlburt, the dynamic duo, eight years ago and their spin on NSARDA and RDAs?

Go to..... http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/comm/ed/ed010911.htm

And Hansard has more if you google.... each year it seems .....with more of Mr. Anderson and Ms. Boston.... the tag team.....from NSARDA!

Peeling the Onion

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

Here's stuff I didn't know.... what about you?

The Nova Scotia Association of Regional Development Authorities is another body out there using taxpayer money to .... (can't help it.... makes me smile every time I think about it) ....."help local communities" enhance their prospects for socio-economic development..... at least that's what they claim.

For the official self-promotion stuff.... visit their web site at http://www.nsarda.ca/

HOWEVER.... when you read their stuff you should remember that this group has only filed their obligatory financial statements 3 out of the 10 years that they've been around. I've just received a few of them from RJSC.

FYI.... (I know that Frank Anderson ran this group for a number of years but I can't remember which ones....)

Here's their description of the NSARDA from one of their financial statements.

"The society was incorporated on October 25, 1999 under the Societies Act of the Province of Nova Scotia. The objects of the society are to foster inter-regional initiatives among Nova Scotia RDAs, foster cooperation with other development organizations and professional associations; to encourage and support RDA board members and staff; to implement ongoing networking activities for inter-organizational information sharing; to provide a forum for discussion of issues, and to generally elevate the profession within Nova Scotia."

WHEW! These guys sound important to our future.... don't they?

Of course, its cost us a little money over the past decade.... unfortunately, its hard to tell how much because they've managed to avoid filing financials 70% of the time since they were incorporated.

But hold on..... don't get discouraged.... I did get two years of financial statements.... just for you dear readers.... had to pay for them.... but hey.... the things curiosity drives you to... you know!! I've scanned a few pages so you can get a bit of the flavour for this VITAL organization. and you can click on them below to enlarge.

Here's a bit of what I noticed...... right off the bat....

1. It appears that there were no financial statements even prepared in 2004!

2. Primary sources of funding for this bunch are ACOA, Department of Economic Development and .... of all people..... our own RDAs?!?

3. Funding and expenditures appear to have been erratic over the past decade if the three years depicted in these two statements are any indication.

4. If these three years are typical it would appear that funding and expenditures for NSARDA over the past decade is somewhere between $1 million and $2.5 million... wow!

Now let me direct your eyes to a couple things I've noticed on these summary sheets that raise questions for me......

In 2006.....

Insurance $3,250..... what were they insuring.... fishing boats?

Parking $1,346..... for staff?

Professional development and meetings $14,848.... who are they training... the folks we're already paying to train or themselves?

Salaries and benefits $130,073.... how many people does this office have?

Travel $9,513... must be traveling with the SWSDA crew... or did this cover Pat Nickerson and Frank Anderson too?

In 2005.....

Marketing and branding $21,624..... who are they marketing and branding?

Communications $24,134..... funny, I never heard from them... wonder what this paid for?

Professional development and meetings $46,077.... where'd they go for this... Fiji?!?

Salaries and benefits $153,404.... here we are in small rural communities unable to afford key staff in tourism, economic or community development.... just no justice.... or sense!

Travel $10,332.... there they go again... almost looks like they spend all their time on the road.... have you figured out what they do yet?