Who’s minding the store?

Dear sir:
I was left in a state of shock after reading the article in the Fort Frances Times last Wednesday about the town having to pass a motion to dip into reserve funds to correct some monumental financial errors.
Revenues underestimated. And expenses obviously out of control.
As owner of a business that I feel pays an excessive amount of property taxes ($144,000 in 2003), I at least expect my money to be managed effectively. From reading this article, it was obvious that even our administration was unaware of this looming problem.
Imagine having an outside auditor having to bring this matter to your attention. Is there no one in administration who knows how to read a financial statement or can track financials on a monthly basis?
The $1.8-million shortfall (roughly 10 percent of the town’s annual budget) is in proportion as bad as the federal government’s squandering of a billion dollars on the infamous gun control registry program.
This $1.8 million in reserves was earmarked for other projects (i.e., street repairs, replacing of aging equipment, or other community projects). What happens to these projects and where will the money come from?
Having been there myself, I know that council only can make rational and sound decisions on pertinent and accurate information. It is obvious that they were kept in the dark and were not supplied with the necessary documentation to make solid financial decisions.
If this happened in private business, the end result would be bankruptcy and heads would roll.
Our town has state-of-the-art computers, and I would safely estimate that probably $1 million has been spent on at least three (must have) computer upgrades in the last 12 years or so.
I understand that only 10-15 percent of the capacity of our existing computer is even being used. and we had to farm out tax billings, as well as hydro and water statements, in the last few years.
What sense does all this make?
The town invested in the Riverwalk Condominium project, which is definitely an asset to our town, however, I feel this should have been undertaken by private investment. Fifteen of these units remain unsold and we, the taxpayers, are responsible for carrying the debt until these remaining units are sold.
The town relinquished the right to the old high school property and, as a result, agreed to many concessions—waiving of property taxes for a number of years, access to our dump at no cost, and heaven knows what else.
When all is said and done, we probably would have been better off to buy the property from the school board for $1, demolish the building, and sell this prime piece of real estate. We at least would have had control over the future use of this property.
Do we really want industrial or possibly manufacturing in the middle of town and immediately adjacent to residential properties? Were these decisions made with all of the information available? I would suspect not.
The town is seeking a delegation to go to Tennessee for the purpose of twinning with a community. Is this the most effective way to spend taxpayers’ money, especially with an election only two months away?
I gather that anyone who travels with this group is responsible for their own expenses. Is this also true for members of council and administration? I recall in the early ’90s that we twinned with a town in Taiwan—with little or no long-term benefits to the town.
This council has but a few months remaining in their term to bring some sense of order to our town hall. I hope they will act responsibly before handing the reins over to a new council.
One frustrated taxpayer,
Georges Blanc
Fort Frances, Ont.