The $50,000 issue that just will not go away, is it even legal?

I received the following comments from one of my readers who is questioning if the $50,000 taken out of land reserves to pay the Vachon group so that "they" own the rights to the Best Western name is even legal under the MGA.
If it is legal does this open up the possibility that anybody trying to start a business in the Pass could approach council for initial funding? If council was in agreement could that funding then be provided from municipal reserves?

Unapproved  Council Minutes state Best Western/ Vachon  funds came from a Municipal Land Reserve Account - see their website or image at bottom of this note.

Section 671 (2) of the MGA 671 states municipal  reserves can only be used for specific items, not hotels or economic development  - see excerpt.

MGA Section 671 (4) states municipal reserve monies must be separately accounted for -- see excerpt.

With the following information from the MGA

Division 9
Use and Disposal of Reserve Land

Use of reserve land, money

671(1)  Subject to section 676(1), environmental reserve must be left in its natural state or be used as a public park.

(2)  Municipal reserve, school reserve or municipal and school reserve may be used by a municipality or school board or by them jointly only for any or all of the following purposes:

                                 (a)    a public park;

                                 (b)    a public recreation area;

                                 (c)    school board purposes;

                                 (d)    to separate areas of land that are used for different purposes.

(2.1)  Community services reserve may be used by a municipality for any or all of the following purposes:

                                 (a)    a public library;

                                 (b)    a police station, a fire station or an ambulance services facility, or a combination of them;

                                 (c)    a non‑profit day care facility;

                                 (d)    a non‑profit senior citizens facility;

                                 (e)    a non‑profit special needs facility;

                                 (f)    a municipal facility providing service directly to the public;

                                 (g)    affordable housing.

(3)  Despite that land is designated as municipal reserve, school reserve or municipal and school reserve, the municipality and one or more school boards may enter into any agreement they consider necessary with respect to a use referred to in subsection (2) or for any matter related to the use.

(4)  Money provided in place of municipal reserve, school reserve or municipal and school reserve and the interest earned on that money

                                 (a)    must be accounted for separately, and

                                 (b)    may be used only for any or all of the purposes referred to in subsection (2).

"Before the first snow falls"

No I am not going to talk about a new Best Western hotel, opening another coal mine or annexing Ranchlands.
We are going to talk about phase 1 of the Decoux/Gallant re-election campaign. For those that have not noticed the security fences are up at the old hospital/nursing home site. A very good source tells me that the hazard material guys will start work next week, with the demolition guys a week or two behind. My source also tells me that the job will take some where around two months give or take a week. I am sure it is sheer coincidence that it could finish as early as the week of October 23.



Please take a moment and vote on the new poll on the right hand side.

Money well spent. You be the judge

Every year we the taxpayers of the Crowsnest Pass spend a minimum of $20,000 to send our elected officials to conventions put on by various organizations that lobby on behalf of the municipalities.

Some people (usually politicians that want to justify going to these conventions) contend that they are an excellent opportunity to network with other municipalities, to attend various courses offered by the province and the host organizations and to have an opportunity to meet with ministers and other various government officials.

Having attended a couple of conventions during my two terms on council, I determined and that is why I stopped going to them that they are a waste of taxpayers money. We should call a spade a spade, they are a perk for politicians.

You have approximately 450 municipalities in this province who will send somewhere between 2-3000 politicians to these events at an average cost of $600 plus per day.

Our municipality similar to many others meets and networks with their neighbor municipalities on a regular basis, they do not need to go to Edmonton or Calgary to do that.

The various courses and information that are offered at these functions could easily in this day and age of the internet be provided to interested elected officials in seconds.

The last justification made is the opportunity to meet with ministers, well let me tell you what that is like. If your lucky you will get a half a hour with a minister, you will be ushered into a room where the minister and a couple of his assistants will shake your hands, smile at you and listen very intently to your concerns. Then they will shake your hands again kick you out of the room and march in the next group then repeat that process 15-20 times.

In six years of being on council I can not remember one thing that this municipality gained by attending the various conventions.  

What as it cost us to send our elected officials to these conventions over the last three years?

Mayor Decoux $14,312

Councilors

Gallant $11,593

Sage $14,672

Gail $12,671

Londsbury $3654

Mitchell $6652

Saindon $2328

Total $65,882

Now I know some people will argue that is an insignificant amount in the grand scheme of running a municipality. This is a prime example of what is wrong with big government today that attitude. Every politician and I know they all will at least until October 21^st must understand that they are spending the taxpayers dollars. This may only be a $66,000 issue, but where is the line on how much taxpayers dollars is it all right to waste?  

Looking forward to my readers comments.   

Crowsnest Pass Promoter

The crowsnest pass promoter will be done this coming week. Never good news to see a community lose a business. Feel bad for Joni who has done an excellent job over the years.

Entrance signs to the Crowsnest Pass

Your new entrance signs, what do you think? If you do not wish to comment please vote on the right hand side.

Who’s in charge?

I hate to use somebody else’s tag line, the great guest contributor to the Pass Herald S.C Rutigan writes articles under that tag I hope he/she does not mind me stealing it for one week but it’s very relevant to something that happened in the Municipal Office over the last few days.

On Monday afternoon there suddenly appears on the Municipal web site under the employment section a new listing for a Human Resources Administrator, not a mention of this position was made at any council meeting recently or back in the spring during the budget process. Maybe it was all decided In Camera? Even if it was, there should have been a motion in the books supporting the position.

Hopefully somebody would bring it up at one of the meeting yesterday, nothing during the G+P meeting, then last night at the council meeting Councilor Gallant asked the CAO if it was true that we were looking for a Human Resources Administrator he said “yes”. Then councilor Gallant asked if the position was on their Organizational chart to which he replied “No”, then he asked how and why the decision was made to hire for this position. The CAO replied that in light of an on going review that both administration and CUPE felt it was necessary to fill this position, and there were funds available within the budget to pay for it.

Now this raises a number of concerns, council’s must fully understand that administration should be running the day-to-day operations of the municipality, that council cannot be micro managing.

Council goes through a budget process where manpower increases are brought forth by administration and exactly how they are going to be paid for. Council agrees or not, then its administrations job to go out and fill the approved positions.

Right out of left field we have a Human Resources Administrator (Permanent part time) obviously council was not informed unless Councilor Gallant was left out of the information loop similar to Councilor Saje was months prior regarding the issue of Clay Cup being terminated by Medican.

Some will argue that there is money in the budget, let administration proceed and that would be all right if you were filling an operational position at the lower end of the pay scale for the next three months.

Your not this is a “Permanent part time” position this position will go on beyond the end of the year, is anybody fooled by the terminology of part time. The pretense that this position will be part time is being used as the wedge to get this position in the door. Look at the qualifications they are looking for on this position does anybody believe that a highly experienced professional is going to take on this position for “20” hours a week? I do not think so.

Come budget time the need for this bureaucratic position (just like any other) is going to be strongly justified by administration. This is going to be another $100,000 a year job that will be funded by either increasing revenue’s, or taking money from another area in the budget. Somebody made the comment to me a while back that we have more administrators than public works operators. This might be a slight exaggeration, if we keep going at this pace by the end of the next council’s term we may have more administrators than CUPE members.

The morale of this story? It’s very obvious to me now, “Who’s In Charge”         

Note: Check out the article on the new entrance signs on the Pass Promoter site at the following address: 

http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/2013/08/21/municipal-entrance-signs-underway 

Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Spending our money again!

First of all this morning the Mayor on his weekly "chat with Randy show" talks about a third new hotel coming to the Pass. On the 6 acre property across from the high school that was only listed For Sale three weeks ago, that has not even sold yet. You would think that he would wrap up the hotel on the piece of land that's been available for three years before he moves on to another venture.

Maybe the fact that the land is being rezoned by council has got him prematurely excited. It's a huge leap forward from zoning to a new hotel I thought we would have learnt that lesson by now. 

Next from the Municipal web site http://www.crowsnestpass.com/finance-a-administration/employment I see we are now advertising for another addition to our bureaucratic team. Yes another one, a  Human Resources Administrator Permanent Part time. 

Their is no question I think anybody outside of the glass bubble called council chambers recognizes that we have a tremendous issue with morale among the work force. Probably more outstanding grievances than there as ever been in the history of the municipality. Don't believe me talk to the employees.

But the big question on my mind is our are we going to pay for all of these people to run this bureaucratic monster? It's not sustainable in the long term. 

Unless of course we are already funding them with the additional revenues from all these new hotels and coal mines.    

Note: Check out Joni McFarlane's latest update on the Crowsnest Centre site:

Costs released for proposed hotel

 http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/2013/08/19/costs-released-for-proposed-hotel

Unbelievably the taxpayers paid for the snacks at the open house.