The Devil is in the Details!

Repeating some things may seem excessive to some. To those I am critical of, it will undoubtedly be seen as overkill. lol, oh well…. Here goes-

I have recently received communication from the town of Wasaga Beach in relation to these Facebook discussions. I want to clarify that I would love it if these discussions were not necessary. But trust in our Municipal Leadership appears to be failing.

In my most humble opinion, TRUST is one of the most sacred elements of democracy and it concerns me when I see that trust being rapidly eroded. When we as citizens vote for any representative, we TRUST that the job of governing will be done with integrity.

That also extends to an understanding that if that integrity is questioned, those responsible for that TRUST will step up and address the issue at hand. Except for the CAO accusing me of misdirecting people, not one Council member or staff have decided to intervene and object to, or clarify a single discussion I have started here.

Our previous elected Council did step up when criticized. They were forced to compile a “truth corner” where they addressed issues where TRUST was challenged by some of those in power now.

The current council however simply chooses to ignore inconsistencies that erode our TRUST. I believe that it is because they honestly feel that people do not care enough to examine things carefully.

You may have read recently that I have concerns about the purchase of our TPAL arena floor. These concerns were prompted by the knowledge that we had spent in excess of $220,000.00 on the floor used to cover the ice surface for concerts. I knew that our Municipality had strict rules regarding purchasing. Despite being made aware of this purchase during the February 29th Council meeting, One Council member looked surprised and none of the others seemed interested.

So…. How did the one member become aware? Well, here on Facebook, many concerned citizens had engaged in discussions about the entry on our public cheque registers a few days before the meeting. When the Deputy CAO’s report summarizing the claimed financial success of a week long celebration was complete, Council members were allowed to comment or ask questions. Only one member of Council initially questioned this purchase and asked if it was included in the financial summary. Despite the answer raising even more questions for me as an observer, he simply said oh, ok, good. NO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor asked any questions about this purchase.

…. I did. We did! Believe me, these discussions are being read, so many people NOW have serious questions.

When I say the devil is in the detail, I took this one step further and specifically asked our CAO some of the details. WHY DOES A CITIZEN HAVE TO ASK OUR CAO FOR ANSWERS OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD HAVE ASKED?

I have a few very specific concerns. When a project of this size (The TPAL) is contracted, the scope of the project is clearly defined. Yes, there are processes put in place to allow major or minor modifications and a portion of the budget is set aside for this purpose. If a particular material specified in the contract was not available, it might be necessary to change that material and approve the cost differential. If a mistake on drawings meant an extra 200’ of cable was required to correct that mistake, that could be approved. But… I would think that a major purchase that actually falls outside of a “change” and instead modifies the scope of the project as an “addition” would not be allowed.

Just because a project was under budget should not allow people to just use the excess as a slush fund to go shopping with.

I questioned the method that the purchase was approved with. CAO McNeill used the terms of reference for the TPAL to justify this decision, saying that the construction steering committee had the authority up to $250,000.00. It was within their right. I disagree. I feel this purchase was outside of the scope of the original contract and was not a “change”.

When I say the devil is in the detail, as taxpayers, we need to question why our Deputy CAO says one thing and our CAO says another. It does not instill confidence. It’s possible they are both truthful, but a leopard rarely changes his spots.

In his written response to my specific question, CAO McNeil listed his committee members by name and claims that the seven of them made the decision.

However, after Councilor Belanger asked his question, Deputy CAO Marshal said this;

“Our plan starting out of the gate was to borrow or rent them from the city of Barrie. When we looked at the cost of doing that and the opportunity to actuslly purchase them on our own, the purchase made greater sense to the four of us. So we did purchase them under a capital program. “

Councilor Belanger still wasn’t sure “what capital budget, so he asked and Marshall responded with,

“No, so the floors in those rinks came out of the TPAL capital budget as part of the capital assets for the arena itself.”

Wait… that response indicates that there were possibly two floors for two rinks. Wow, this during a year where our tax increases have been outrageous!

Does this purchase meet ethical, procurement practices? Why didn’t we borrow the floor to save money? Is any of the cost of purchasing or setting up the floor captured in the financial summary?

Most importantly- WHY DOES THE PUBLIC HAVE TO ENQUIRE ABOUT IRREGULARITIES THAT SHOULD MATTER TO THE SEVEN PEOPLE WE ELECTED TO DO JUST THAT!