Listen to Lawyer's Presentation

On Tuesday the 13th of October I attended a meeting of the Municipality of Barrington's Council meeting and I recorded the following parts of that meeting.

1.  Presentation by Attorney C. Nickerson on the Municipal Government Act, SWSDA and YAIC (5m)

2. Intervention from the audience. (800kb)

3. Council consideration of a request from SWSDA for a comfort and support letter to Minister Paris for a loan guarantee of $500,000 and disposal of the $1.75 million mortgage SWSDA now holds on the former Shelburne Naval Base. (2.5 m)

Note to readers. So here's the problem!!!

I make use of Google's free blog technology because it is relatively simple to use. However, simplicity imposes limits on what you can do with the technology. One of the things I haven't figured out is how to put tape recordings on my blogs.

Sooo.... I am reduced to the following offer. Go to Timothy's Web page or click on the following address...
http://www.shelburnecountytoday.com/docs/nickerson.mp3 to listen to the first of these recordings.

Alternatively..... If you are interested in receiving a copy of any or all of these recordings please send me a note telling me which one or ones you want to copy for your files at aacayer@gmail.com and I will forward a copy to you.

SWSDA Audited Financial Statement 2008/2009

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JUST FOR YOU DEAR READER

Following is the subject statement. My comments to follow in the coming days. (You may have to print them to truly be able to understand them.)

SWSDA Minutes

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SWSDA's Minutes from their June 17, 2009 meeting recently appeared on their web site at www.swsda.com/index.php?=know

Lots of in camera stuff and lots of items where you have to read between the lines.... Take a look.

Hard to believe ... that SWSDA is a "municipal body" .... or a real RDA working for the benefit of its member municipalities, accountable to taxpayers who are paying the freight.

NO TAXPAYER GUARANTEES FOR SWSDA DEBT

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MUNICIPAL SERVICES & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

GET IT RIGHT!

For a number of years, SWSDA has supplemented contributions to SWSDA's core funding in creative ways. In addition to core funding grants, municipalities have fronted SWSDA expenditures with line of credit guarantees exceeding $500,000 per year. They have also contributed additional grants to SWSDA funding initiatives and guaranteed loans provided to SWSDA by the Royal Bank for specific projects. Recently, SWSDA tried again to pry its fingers into municipal pockets by seeking to get municipalities to increase their line of credit guarantees from $500,000 to $750,000. That plan back-fired when municipal watchdogs found out and pointed out to municipalities that it was illegal for municipalities to provide these guarantees.

SWSDA's fallback position was to convince municipalities to provide the extra $250,000 as "repayable grants", (which they did last year and that quarter of a million dollars is now listed as a payable on SWSDA's books). The new $250,000 in grants plus the existing $500,000 in guarantees now brought the total in additional cash provided to SWSDA to three-quarters of a million dollars. That $250,000 has now been spent by SWSDA and the most recent accounting indicates that the majority of the guarantee has been spent also.

This creative financing approach ... was sold by SWSDA as an interim step while SWSDA arranged to get the Province to change the law to enable municipalities to legally provide guarantees for RDAs.  I wrote recently about that initiative when I provided you dear reader with a copy of a letter from Mr. Anderson to M. Wills who works for Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

In his letter ... copied by Mr. anderson to Mayors and Wardens in Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties and the Municipality of Clare, Mr. Anderson provided a purported response from the former Minister of Municipal Affairs implying that the government was working on a way to accomodate a resolution passed by the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities seeking a change in the legislation to permit these guarantees by municipalities.

Here is Mr. Wills reply to Mr. Anderson.... His reply is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Mr. Wills raises the issue that if these guarantees are to be provided by municipalities SWSDA would have to be a "municipal body". Mr. Wills points out that if that happened, SWSDA would only be able to "...borrow from the Municipal Finance Corporation...." and its borrowings would be regulated by the Municipal Finance Corporation Act.

Moreover, Mr. Wills points out that borrowings of this type would only be provided for capital projects and would require Ministerial approval of each guarantee. He also points out that under the Regional Community Development Act, RDAs are not allowed to "... buy, sell and own property..." something Richard Hurlburt and the previous government failed to enforce. Indeed, successive Conservative governments turned a blind eye to the laws of the province thereby enabling the continuing flaunting of our laws by SWSDA and our municipalities.

What a pleasure... watching a government enforcing the laws we are supposed to live under. Gee... it might even give one confidence that some day we can sort out this mess! Thanks Mr. Wills and the Department of Economic Development.

SWSDA Comparative Accounts July 31, 2009

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SOME ... ANSWERS TO EARLIER FINANCIAL QUESTIONS

While this report doesn't answer all of the questions one might have about SWSDA's finances and in fact some of the information might be mis-leading.... it does open the door a smidge.... and actually raises other questions.

For example, the RBC Dominion Securities  Investments I believe represent the monies SWSDA was forced to set aside in accordance with the Consent Order flowing from the Fraudulent Conveyance action on the Boys School brought by OPI in 1997 against SWSDA. What isn't clear is why monies that were supposed to have been deposited in a segregated interest bearing bank account or GIC have not accrued any interest since March 31, 2009 according to this statement. It is also unclear why SWSDA has set up an RBC Investment Cash Account with some of these monies from the Boys School in contravention of the requirements of the Consent Order. Also, it is unclear how come the item listing the Shelburne Boys School Accrual is different than the Investments referred to under Assets and why the amount has not changed between March 31, 2009 and July 31, 2009.

According to this statement it appears that taxpayers in our municipalities on July 31st this year were on the hook for some $375,000 ( $165,000) more than at March 31, 2009 through our guarantees of SWSDA's operating line. Add to that the $200,000 we taxpayers have provided in grants that are re-payable by SWSDA and the $84,105 guarantee provided by the Municipal taxpayers of Shelburne and used by SWSDA for the cost overun on the Sound Stage built under Mr. MacDonnell's corporate supervision and we can now see the tip of the iceberg of taxpayer indebtedness that we know about driven by SWSDA's activities.... and we haven't seen the Audited Financial Statements for last year yet .. even though the fiscal year is more than half over. Click on the statement below to enlarge.

THIS MORNING'S QUESTION ABOUT YOU AND SWSDA!

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Do you know how much of the line of credit used by SWSDA is outstanding today?

Do you know if SWSDA's account is overdrawn today... and if it is, do you know by how much?

Do you know that each of us as taxpayers have guaranteed and or financed SWSDA's overdraft and line of credit through our municipal participation on the Board of Directors of SWSDA?

Do you know that Mr Anderson alone can decide how much of that overdraft he uses at any given point in time without first getting approval from taxpayers or our representatives on the Board?

Do you know if your representative on the Board of SWSDA can tell you the status today of SWSDA's line of credit or overdraft obligations and our municipality's and by extension, your share of these accounts?

HALF THE FISCAL YEAR IS GONE!

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AND STILL

NO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FROM SWSDA!

Let's see..... the end of the fiscal year is March 31, 2009..... and we are now six months into the fiscal year .... so why  hasn't the SWSDA financial statement for 2008/2009 been filed with the registry of joint stocks?

I thought Mr. Anderson was an ex-banker and fully cognizant of all things financial..... I guess the emphasis should be on the "ex" part of ex-banker!

In the interim, an organization with significant financial problems is left to drift by our elected officials and municipal councils..... their corporate and personal fiduciary obligations ignored in the wake of an increasing chorus of voices asking questions and demanding audits.

QUESTION 1 !

WILL DIRECTORS' LIABILITY INSURANCE COVER MEMBERS OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS WHO IGNORE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR AND HOLD ACCOUNTABLE MEMBERS OF STAFF AND THE EXECUTIVE?!?

QUESTION 2 !

ARE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILURE OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES ON THE SWSDA BOARD TO EXERCISE THEIR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES?!?

QUESTION 3 !

ARE PROFESSIONALS LIKE ACCOUNTANTS AND LAWYERS BURDENED WITH A HIGHER LEVEL OF OBLIGATIONS FOR ENSURING THE FISCAL AND LEGAL CORRECTNESS OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THEY SERVE AS MEMBERS OF A BOARD OR EXECUTIVE?!?

ITS YOUR FAULT!

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NOW, DO YOU FEEL BETTER?

Who cares whose fault it is.... IMHO ....  it is now time for us to turn the page, resolve not to make the same mistakes and find solutions that will work for us and our kids and grandkids....

"DISSIPATED: GOTTEN RID OF; WASTED, DISPERSED"

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SWSDA WORKING ON MORTGAGES ?

In November 2007 ... SWSDA's CEO submitted a sworn Affidavit to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. In the Affidavit he claimed that SWSDA had, between July and November 2007, "dissipated" more than a quarter of a million dollars that was left in the Maintenance Fund after the Boys School was sold in June as well as the $550,000 received from the sale.

As a result of this declaration by SWSDA .... the parties to the Fraudulent Conveyance case agreed that SWSDA was to replace the Boys School's "dissipated funds" (the unspent portion of the $625,000 Maintenance Fund + $550,000 + interest going back a number of years) by using the proceeds from the sale of the Former Naval Base when it was sold and the Court so ordered SWSDA to set aside these funds.

Fast forward  more than a year later to March 2008 when the Base was sold....

It would appear... that SWSDA received less than a million in cash from the sale of the Base and $716,000 of that was set aside to satisfy the court order. In addition, SWSDA quickly moved $150,000 to pay off a loan held by the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission. The RDA now holds a mortgage on the Base of $1.75 million which it has been trying to sell off at a discount to others including the Provincial Government so that it can get its hands on a more liquid form of asset.... cash! (Now Mr. Anderson's briefing of the SWSDA Board at their May meeting about SEACOAST and their prospects makes sense!!!)

Now we hear on the grapevine ... that even the disappearing government of Rodney MacDonald wouldn't bite that poison fruit in its final six months in power... but ever peristent Mr. Anderson .... we understand is pitching municipal members of his Board of Directors and the new provincial government to reconsider and take the mortgage off his hands and give him cash.

I guess holding a mortgage for $1.75 million whose terms provide for delayed payment is like having a gold credit card where you've exceeded both the total and daily credit limit.....is it burning a hole in Mr. Anderson's pocket? Seems that way!

Additions To Blog

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You may have noticed some additions to this blog today. On the left hand side of the blog there is now a clickable link to two other blogs (one is a new blog called Shelburne Development that I am launching today ) and Timothy Gillespie's ever- popular and recently resuscitated Shelburne County Today. Adding this makes it easier for readers to move from one to the other.

I have also added a survey question tool that you can monitor as folks vote.... should be interesting.

Hope you enjoy it.

Who's Counting!?!

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FYI......... As of midnight last night this blog, started in mid-May has logged 59,896 page views
and 10,551 visits.

I invite you to add your thoughts to mine and those of other readers by providing your comments or thoughts. This blog is about the issues surrounding RDA Accountability in the past and in the future. Our ability to be informed about the past and present is essential for us to prepare and enhance our ability to manage the future.

Please take a moment and share your thoughts with our readers.

Proposed RDA Workshop Discussion

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Dear Reader.... Please go to http://www.shelburnecitizendrivendevelopment.blogspot.com/ for this discussion....

ACCOUNTABILITY ... IN CAPITAL LETTERS!

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THREE MONTHS LATER

In the Minutes of the May 27 meeting ow SWSDA a number of questions were asked.... some reportedly answered and/or discussed by the Board with others to be answered later. Below is a list of those reportedly clarified, answered and/or discussed with Board members.

1. "Status of operating funds from ACOA and Economic Development Requirement to register under the RDA act to receive operational funding (in progress) "

Question: Can any of those in attendance tell the great unwashed public what they were told and what discussion if any ensued respecting operational funding and the requirement for SWSDA to register under the RDA Act?

2. "... status provided for several projects ..."

Question: Can any of those in attendance tell the public what they were told and what discussion if any ensued respecting the status of any and all projects currently being managed by SWSDA and in particular what was the Status of Shelburne County projects?

3. "... $716,858 invested from the sale of the Shelburne Youth Centre ..."

Question: Can any of those in attendance tell the us what they were told and what discussion if any ensued respecting the status of the funds invested from the sale of the Shelburne Youth Centre and in particular where has the money been invested, what interest rates are being paid and what interest has accrued to the investment since it was made, when was it made, and how was the amount to be invested determined?

4. "Process for hiring consultants explained... "

Question: Can any of those in attendance tell us what they were told and what discussion if any ensued respecting the process for hiring consultants and where a written copy of that process can be found?

5. "Clarification provided on mortgage outstanding for sale of Shelburne Park and repayment terms ..."

Question: Can any of those in attendance tell us what they were told and what discussion if any ensued respecting the mortgage outstanding for the sale of Shelburne Park and repayment terms?

6. " Discussion of travel expense process... "

Question: Can any of those in attendance tell us what they were told and what discussion if any ensued respecting SWSDA's travel expense process and where a written copy describing this process can be found, as well as a description of the process for attribution of travel expenses to various core and project budgets?

BTW: At the May meeting it was reported that the "Request for financial info on Shelburne Park will require clearance from solicitors as a court case is pending."

If that information has been provided to Board members would one of those in attendance please provide a copy. On the other hand, if it has not been provided, Board members should insist on this information before they accept the new financial statements at the September meeting of the Board and the AGM.

** (In attendance at the meeting were the following people....
Voting... Rod Rose, Phil LeBlanc, Phil Mooney, Heather MacDonald (alternate for Municipality of Yarmouth) Rachel Pictou (representing the Acadia First Nation), Sherman Embree, Elizabeth Acker, Cecil Brannon, Alonzo Townsend (alternate for Town of Lockeport), Louise Halliday
Non-voting... Doris Swaine (alternate for Municipality of Shelburne), Elizabeth Rhuland (alternate for Town of Shelburne), Donna LeBlanc-Messenger (alternate for Municipality of Barrington), Robert Maillet, Calvin Butler, Bryan Smith ( special assistant to Richard Hurlburt), Stéphane Cyr, Pat Melanson, Clyde DeViller, Michelle Blinn, Frank Anderson and David Warner.)

Great Meeting Bodes Well for Future

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SHELBURNE MEETING WITH MINISTERS

PERCY PARIS & STERLING BELLIVEAU

For those of you who couldn't attend, this morning's meeting between the two ministers and municipal officials was well attended and observed by some 25 citizens. CBC television and a reporter from the local Coast Guard newspaper also were present.

Municipal officials each had an opportunity to identify priorities in each of their communities and Minister Paris provided those assembled with assurances that the new government placed a high priority on face to face communications and focused efforts to help rural communities with their development efforts.

All in all..... I think it was a good first meeting and gave local officials, as well as residents, an opportunity to take the measure of our new government and for these two ministers to conclude that they and their colleagues should come to Shelburne County more often.......

Gawd..... Does it Ever End?!?

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Here's a decision everyone should read..... http://townofyarmouth.ca/agenda/files2/00200/217/request_for_decision_prepayment_to_yaic.pdf


Read this carefully dear reader..... and ask yourself why the three CAO's joining the Audit Committee and chairing the audit committee is an integral part of this decision....... YAIC is broke.... the same organization run by Mr. Anderson and his supportive Board of Directors... in fact in some instances the same characters running SWSDA..

Read Shelburne County Today for details and the search by Yarmouth County municipalities for transparency or go to the URL above to read the background document......and pass it on to those who still believe that Mr. Anderson and SWSDA should manage anything in Shelburne County.

Oh...... Did I mention?

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Spoke to Service Nova Scotia representative today and was told that to his knowledge the former Minister Jamie Muir did not write a separate letter to SWSDA about the UNSM's resolution on the provision of municipal guarantee's for RDA's.... SURPRISE!

Rather.... I am told that the Department wrote to the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM), providing a response to all of the resolutions passed by the UNSM.. You can find this resolution and the purported response at http://www.unsm.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=157&Itemid=102


Let's read this "response" from the Minister and see if we should be reading between the lines..... Here's what his "response" says.......

1. "There are a number of issues that have to be taken under consideration..." Where I come from this means.... Whoa... not so fast..... this is more complicated than you suggest....

2. "...for this request to move away from the long established policy that limits guarantees..." I believe in government-speak this means.... We've had this policy for a long time and it is well established.... we really would need incredibly good reasons and justification for changing the way we've done it .

3. "My Department will discuss this matter with the Department of Economic Development..." This means.... it will get complicated and they may not be willing to support this suggestions so we make no promises.

4. "...as well as the Municipal Finance Corporation, the entity responsible for issuing borrowing debentures on behalf of municipal government." As I read it this means.... and if the Department of Economic Development has no objections.... my fallback position will be to refer this to the guys who really decide the borrowing and lending powers of municipalities.... Hey ... pay attention... we're talking BORROWING DEBENTURES HERE! Not just loan guarantees..... this is complicated stuff....


RESPONSE:
There are a number of issues that have to be taken under consideration for this request
to move away from the long established policy that limits borrowing guarantees to
municipal corporations that have established under the Municipal Government Act. My
Department will discuss this matter with the Department of Economic Development,
who is responsible for the Regional Community Development Act, as well as the
Municipal Finance Corporation, the entity responsible for issuing borrowing debentures
on behalf of municipal government.
The Honourable Jamie Muir

NOPE..... THIS IS THE KIND OF RESPONSE GOVERNMENT WRITES WHEN THE ANSWER IS NO.... I WOULDN'T TAKE MUCH COMFORT FROM IT IF I WERE MR. ANDERSON....

Indeed... it looks like Mr. Anderson is trying to make something out of thin air.... sorry... doubt it'll work this time......

What do you think?

So ......Ask Frank!

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And that is just what they did......

Three ladies from Shelburne were in Yarmouth today and were talking about my earlier question about SWSDA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) and SWSDA's Audited Financial Statements to the end of March 2009.

Sooo.... being the concerned citizens that they are...... they stopped in at SWSDA and asked Mr. Anderson himself!!!!

And, now we have it directly from the horse's mouth.... AGM and financial statements are scheduled for mid- September.... sometime.......!!!


Thanks ladies... couldn't have done it without you!

If you have unanswered questions or if you would like documents from SWSDA .... call or write Frank and ask him......I hear he is obliging (;-).....

Here's his contact information:

P.O. Box 131, 233 Water Street, Yarmouth NS B5A 1M1 Tel: 902-742-3210 Fax: 902-742-3107 Email: yarmouthinfo@swsda.com or frank@swsda.com

Let us know if you get a response........

Ed

Lessons in Public Service...

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When I heard it.... it bothered me......!!

Monday evening at the ..... the Municipality of Barrington Council Meeting I watched with interest as private citizens who had been kept in the dark about a mink ranch development initiative, questioned the Warden and Council members and sought to stop the project.

Then I heard Councillor El-Jakl and Warden Halliday .... each state that they personally had done the best they could for the municipality, ensuring that everything that was done, " ...was done legally...". Something about those statements bothered me and over the last few days the thought has been buzzing around in my head .... what's wrong with doing things legally?

Of course.... that's not the problem.... the problem is that elected officials and public servants aren't just called upon to do things legally..... they are required by the positions they have been entrusted with to... "...do the right thing...".

That dear reader is more.... indeed much more... than doing things legally.

Rather, my fellow citizens .... in addition to meeting legal requirements, we expect elected officials and hired staff in our governments to use common sense, their training, skills, connections and experience to guide their interventions on behalf of the public.... and we expect them to seek expert advice and public input without hesitation when appropriate if the public's interests might be at risk or if the public has private and/or collective interests that might be impacted by decisions made by government.

On the other hand.... it is hard to see how the public can be expected to participate and provide meaningful, constructive input into government deliberations if those charged with the responsibility of providing government services, insist on keeping public information and deliberations secreted to the back-rooms by using trumped-up pretexts to justify in camera sessions and confidentiality.

Oh... and to make sure I am not misunderstood.... my view is that this tendency to secrecy is not a new phenomenon and did not start with the present pool of elected officials and civil servants... the problem has existed for some time and unfortunately it is now being visited on people who have simply continued to do things they way they were always done.

Solution.....!! Stop doing things the way they were always done .... and devise ways to conduct public affairs in a manner that ensures that the public is informed and engaged so that they can contribute to the healthy conduct of public affairs.

My two cents!

Ed

No Better Way to Celebrate Democracy 250!!

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Well dear reader.... it appears we are beginning a new political era.... with the opening to the public of Friday's meeting between municipal officials in Shelburne County and new Provincial Ministers who are responsible for six portfolios. Providing the public with the opportunity to hear the questions asked and the answers given is what democracy is all about......

As you can tell from the comments of your fellow readers ..... hopes and expectations are high (for the most part).... even though some comments remain cynical and critical. More importantly folks appear ready to demand more openness from our politicians and public servants in the conduct of public affairs....

Witness the recent public outcries and demands for answers ..... in Barrington, Tusket, the Municipality of Yarmouth ..... and even the Town of Yarmouth.... a call to stop public bodies from conducting public business behind closed doors with little recorded evidence of what transpired has gone out from the public and smart politicians will heed the call.... now!

This fledgling movement .... for access to information and transparency must be at the heart of informed dialogue between government and the governed respecting public issues .... and that is terrific!

Friday's opportunity for the public to listen in on a conversation between two levels of government ......is an important first step on the path to better governance and bodes well for the future..... I'm certainly looking forward to it and I hope you are too.

By the way...... If you get a chance to attend you might consider bringing along your older children and explaining to them the importance of informed public participation in a democracy..... they'll thank you in the years to come.

PUBLIC INVITED TO OBSERVE!

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THE GOOD NEWS IS......

YOUR ARE INVITED TO OBSERVE
THE MEETING OF MINISTERS PARIS AND BELLIVEAU
WITH SHELBURNE COUNTY
MUNICIPAL POLITICIANS & OFFICIALS

AUGUST 28, 10:30 A.M.
KING STREET COMMUNITY CENTRE
(FIRE HALL)