Added: Jan 13, 2011

From: WVOpenGovernment

Duration: 4:49

Presentation to the Council of the District of West Vancouver (BC, Canada), by George Pajari. [See also the articles in the North Shore News: - http://www.nsnews.com/news/West+Vancouver+Memorial+Library+furniture+engraved+carved/4108609/story.html - http://www.nsnews.com/news/gentleman+jousts+reputation/4143596/story.html] "Your Worship and Councillors. My name is George Pajari. At the previous Council meeting my credibility was called into question by Council and a member of the gallery, so I beg your indulgence if my response takes slightly more than three minutes. Several weeks ago I made a presentation related to fiscal prudence within the Municipality, some of which was quoted in the media. This triggered a response from Your Worship, from a Library Board member, and a letter published in the North Shore News from the Board Chair who wrote: 'The claim that the library board spent $40,000 on custom furniture with inlaid veneer carved to match the pattern on the carpet is erroneous.' She is right. I was wrong. It wasn't $40,000, it was $43,561.03. And it wasn't custom furniture with carved inlaid veneer, it was custom furniture with engraved veneer. You excoriated the North Shore News for a lack of fact-checking. You want facts? - these are the minutes of the Board mtg that approved the expenditure; - here is the Financial Report from the District detailing the expenditure; - here's a photo of the furniture I sent to the manufacturer; and - here is their email confirming they made it and it was custom. And to the claim that even people who worked at the Library for 30 years had no information on any custom furniture? the Library was so proud of the furniture, they put a photo of it in their annual report. And that was around the time, you were the Council rep to the Library Bd, Your Worship. So, more than the denials and selective amnesia about this extravagant expenditure, it is fascinating to note what elicited a response. Last month I commented on three things: - $40,000 in questionable spending, - roughly a million dollars in a wasteful and untendered contract - and a lack of transparency surrounding the $20 million Endowment Fund. Of these three amounts -- which one concerned people the most and generated the only responses? The one for $40K. Not a peep about the million spent on the gold-plated telephone system. Not a murmur about my claim the community was misled about the $20M Endowment fund. Interesting that the $40K bothers some more than the millions. It was also interesting to hear you, Your Worship, mention how well we're served by the Library Foundation. You really want to bring up the Library Foundation? Were you aware that their financials filed last year showed that they raised $127K but spent $134K on overhead? That's right, if the Canada Revenue Agency's figures are correct, the WV Library Foundation spent $7K more on overhead than they raised. That effectively means that of that $127K donated to the Foundation in 2009, not one penny went to the Library. All that money you helped raise for the Library at the Croquet Tournament that year? Eaten up in expenses. And you want fact-checking? -- here's the CRA [Canada Revenue Agency] tax return for that year. You said that 98% of West Vancouverites approve of the Library -- as if that excused this waste. That's not the point. I personally approve 100% of the Library. I love the Library -- as a volunteer I wrote the original Wikipedia entry on our Library. We're not talking about how wonderful the services we receive are, we're talking about efficiency -- how the money is spent to deliver the services. That's the point that those who defend this waste, are completely missing. So I ask every member of this Council and Your Worship -- if you are serious about ending this attitude of complacency, this attitude that we have 98% approval so can spend money any way we want, then you will hold the line on taxes, and you will direct staff to find the savings in the operating budget and not merely by again mortgaging our future through deferred infrastructure maintenance. Thank you.

Channel: Nonprofit

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