City Council Approves 200% Grant For 25 Vic. Rd.

Didn't Seem To Realize What They Had Approved

You have to pay attention to understand what council approved the other day, and what they thought they had approved.

An operating grant of $11,350/yr. was earlier approved for someone to operate the little theatre on Victoria Road. This grant is paid in quarterly installments in advance throughout the year.

After putting out a request for proposal for someone to move into this free, taxpayer paid facility, the city got one proposal, which they accepted. The new group will take over the space on July 1 and according to the contract presented to council, they will receive 50% on signing and another 50% on Oct. 1 for this year.

To a reasonable person you would think the new group would be entitled to 50% of the annual grant, given they are only being paid to manage the building (that is what they say they are doing) for six months this year.

The wording of the agreement concerned me, as it read as if the new group would be paid $11.350 for the remaining six months of 2014. I had pointed that out earlier when I made a presentation to council about the wisdom of throwing more tax dollars into this money pit.

When I asked council how much this meant the new group would be paid for 2014, it was clear they had not read the agreement, and it was clear that perhaps staff was being misleading with their presentation. Both Mayor Ruttan and Councilor Bestwick were clearly under the impression, this new group would be receiving 50% of the grant to operate this year. When I insisted that is not what the agreement said, Mayor Ruttan referred to staff, whose first answer could be classed as evasive.

Only when I persisted, did staff agree that in fact for the year 2014, for the remaining six months this group would be receiving the grant equivalent for 12 months. I assume that Centre Stage was also paid to operate the place for the first six months.

Can You Trust City Hall With Your Tax Dollars?

If this is an example of how city council provides oversight for how staff decides to spend your tax dollars it isn't very reassuring. Given they simply didn't understand the fine print of an agreement crafted by our own city staff that certainly appears to have been meant to deceive for an $11,350 contract, it is cold comfort to think of the multiple millions they are also responsible for.

Follows is a short list of some of those deals overseen by city staff and city council. There are some questionable uses of tax dollars, and even more questionable demonstrations of sound business acumen at work.

• $72 Million For Convention Centre Told Would Cost $52 Million
• $15 Million For New Office Built Without Tender
• $3.5 Million For Wellcox Railyard (Assumed liability for $7 million Trestle)
• $8 Million Linley Valley Purchase (Assessed at $2.5 million)
• $10 Million Tax Giveaway to Hotel Developer
• $4 Million Old Annex Sold for $1.00 (building assessed at $4million)
• $2 Million solving a non existing threat at Colliery Dams
• $800,000 into Building Assessed for $238,000.

Remember this is the city council that just finishing spending $100,000 to get three consultants to tell them how to interpret the Community Charter and apply Roberts Rules of Order.