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| Bob Charters |
Here is our email, which was directed to Mr. Plessl and copied to city council and the city manager, followed by Mr. Plessel and Mr. Charters' reply:
Dear Mr. Plessl:
On June 20th, Mr. Charters agreed to answer questions concerning the Hamilton Waterfront Trust, for The Hamiltonian. On June 21st, we sent the questions to him and copied you as well. On June 22, Mr. Charters advised that he is referring this matter to you to respond to. We had asked for an estimated time of arrival for the return of the responses to the questions. To date, we have not received any communication from you directly on this matter. The Hamiltonian takes no pleasure in escalating this matter and our default position is always to invite respectful dialogue and exchange of information, allowing each side of an issue to express their views.
To our city councillors and Mr. Murray: We are sure that you will recognize that parceling work to a third party, be it an arm’s length party, an Agency, Board or Commission, or any other entity, does not absolve that entity from being open, transparent and accountable to the taxpayers of Hamilton. The questions we are posing to the Hamilton Waterfront Trust are pasted below this email. We trust you will find them to be fair and in the best interests of Hamiltonians. We would appreciate any efforts that can be made in conjunction with Mr. Plessl, for the answers to these questions, as well as an ETA as to when we may receive a response.
Respectfully,
The Hamiltonian
1. The Bay Observer published an article recently (which can be found here http://bayobserver.ca/2012/06/15/waterfront-trust-bookkeeping-raises-eyebrows/, which presents some disturbing assertions with respect to the manner in which the Hamilton Waterfront Trust is being run financially and otherwise. Our first question to you is a general one, which allows you room to say whatever you believe is pertinent, Upon review of this article, what are your observations/response to it? (please note- this general question is understood not to take the place of replies requested to the balance of the questions below)
2. Have all construction contracts been awarded through a tendering process? If not, can you identify the contracts and the value of those contracts?
3. Are staff positions on the Trust posted for recruitment? Can you describe the process by which staff positions are recruited? Have there been any exceptions and , if so, why?
4. Are members of the Trust provided with company vehicles that are subsidized in any way, in whole or in part, including the cost of gasoline or fuel, through taxpayer dollars? If so, how many vehicles and what is the value of the subsidy?
5. Are expense accounts allowed to anyone on the Trust, If so, what is the yearly allotment of those accounts and are they audited?
6. What, if any, spot audits are done by your accountants on transactions which generate cash?
7. A washroom that's price has been allegedly inflated by $400,000.00 to allegedly offset a cost overrun. True or untrue? Please explain.
8. Do you believe the Trust’s finances would withstand a forensic audit and given the Bay Observer’s article , will you call for one to, at the very minimum, clear the air and assure taxpayers that their dollars are well spent?
9. Would you be willing to provide copies of the minutes of all board meetings for publication on The Hamiltonian?
10. Is there anything else you would like Hamiltonians to know about the Hamilton Waterfront Trust?
Reply from Mr. Charters and Mr. Plessel:
We are satisfied with the responses of Councillor Chad Collins our former Chairman and Roberto Rossini General Manager Finance City of Hamilton.
On behalf of the Board,
Bob Charters, Werner Plessel
Are you satisfied that the issues we have posed have been adequately addressed and do you accept the response from Mr. Plessel and Mr. Charters? Or do you think a further account is required? In our view, the questions posed have not been substantively addressed while some have not been addressed at all.
It seems to me that many of the hard questions asked by the Hamiltonian remain glossed over or unanswered completely by the Waterfront Trust. Missing pieces everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt is an embarrassment that our city council and city manager allowed this response. It is not a response at all and obviously the Waterfront Trust has been held immune to scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteYou have got to be kidding!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHow much have you lost this year Bob?
You promised a profit. Better have happened.
I think this has gone from a question to the Integrity Commissioner to perhaps the police now
They are too busy to be accoutable? Somethings fishy
ReplyDeleteIt is called circling the wagons. Nothing short of a forensic audit would divulge what we need to know. And this is the response from a citizen`s representative on the board, dont we feel well represented!This type of response leads me to believe that the Trust is a cosy assignment for friends of council.
ReplyDelete"We are satisfied with the responses of Councillor Chad Collins our former Chairman and Roberto Rossini General Manager Finance City of Hamilton."
ReplyDeleteWhat the "HECFI" do we need the Waterfront Trust for if a Councillor not on the Board and the Chief Finance Bureaucrat are acting as spokespersons for the operation.
Perhaps Mr. Rossini is now designated to respond to the unanswered questions.
Wow. I really was prepared to give the HWT the benefit of the doubt until we heard from them. Now that we have, I no longer feel the same way given this dismissive, insulting, and arrogant response from the Board. If I were a Board member, I would not have approved this response. Not even nearly.
ReplyDeleteI must say I thought the rush to judgement by some was a bit premature. I apologize to those who were raising concerns. Based on this response, which is effectively a non-response using another non-response (Collins) as their response (are you following me?), I have grave concerns about how the HWT views itself, manages itself, and communicates with the citizens who fund it. This is NOT how you appease your critics. This is NOT how you demonstrate accountability. This IS how you show contempt for citizens. They should know better than this. Talk about poking the bear.
As much as I like the work the HWT has done, put me down as someone who would like a new and detailed audit.
I agree with you 100% Mr. Crawford. I too was open minded about this, until now.
DeleteSevern
"As much as I like the work the HWT has done,..."
DeleteGraham, for the past ten years I've learned a lot concerning what the Trust has done and not done.
It irks me to no end to read again and again all that the Trust has done.
Can you please state what exactly you believe the work the HWT has done? I'm sincerely trying to understand what people believe it is they have done, and continue to do.
Thanks kindly.
And your council is supporting this type of subbery
ReplyDeleteTerm Limits Now
".....and the walls keep tumbling down"
ReplyDeleteThere is more to come folks.
Stay tuned!!!!!
"The Hamiltonian takes no pleasure in escalating this matter and our default position is always to invite respectful dialogue and exchange of information, allowing each side of an issue to express their views."
ReplyDeleteBrava/bravo Teresa et al.. It's been said before, and must be said again: The Hamiltonian is one class act, and I truly, most heart-and-head-felt, believe that if you all weren't thinking (critically but fairly), writing (eloquently and politically/socially profound), and sharing, freely of your own time, I think I'd go out of my mind.
Clr's Collins and Farr have offered up slap-in-the-face tokenism. Collins behaviour was so childish that he refused to answer the questions in sequential order, if he chose to answer at all, which we all know he chose not to answer for the most part.
The HWT hasn't responded at all as far as I'm concerned; unbelievable really considering the non-answer was co-written by a citizen-at-large who is in for a 4-year stretch. I think I better find out who the other citizen-at-large is for Charters doesn't represent, in any way, what I believe is necessary - accountability and transparency towards hundreds of thousands of citizens at large. How did this hostile citizen-at-large manage to make the cut? This sort of treatment towards fellow citizens is nothing short of disgraceful,disrespectful, and abusive. For the Director, Plessl, to say nothing is really saying a lot; on the other hand, Plessl has been dodging bullets for over a decade and if not Charters, he might have called on one of the councillors, Farr and Jackson, who sit on the Board now, to stage a co-non-reply.
As for being satisfied? How can one? If there is just one person who believes that it is acceptable for elected and paid officials to treat its citizens with such disrespect and contempt, let's hear it please. My daughter is graduating from high school tomorrow; she would have never made it through if she had given any teacher ANSWERS equivalent to any of the responses we have suffered through so far.
We're all more than dissatisfied I believe; unfortunately, the world reads again how officials in Hamilton treat its citizens. It's embarrassing, unethical, and crass. And, we're keeping them all in business; as a taxpayer, I'm deeply peeved; as a resident I feel the stigma of being a Hamiltonian and it is the behaviour of those running the show here that ruins it for all of us.
The HWT may be a bad apple so, let's have a forensic audit and find out. Easy-peasy.
The alternative, citizens/taxpayers begging but not receiving answers, is the harder, more adversarial, path to take.
It's hard to live in a "no-can-do said-the-official" City; hard for the poor, the rich and everyone in between. Damn these people for taking us down the wrong path, it's just wrong, needless bs, and counterproductive to the "good life."
I always thought The Hamiltonian should be a larger force in Hamilton but I respect that it likely does not have the resources to be that. Sad and unfortunate as I think also think it present intelligent questions and acts on the interests of us all.
DeleteI can't imagine how the Hamilton Waterfront Trsut can be supported AT ALL through council. given its arrogance.
Sorce
I suggest Bob Charters and Werner Plessel step down immediately. I think Jason Farr should call for their resignations. Or, if he is not willing, we should call for his.
ReplyDeleteBob Charters is a CITIZEN rep? Unbelievable. i don't any citizen who would not expect answers to questions that affect their pocketbooks. Am I paying for people to be riding around in vehicles, or aren't I?
ReplyDeleteCouncillor Collins earlier stated in his responses the following;
ReplyDelete"Again, to correct another inaccuracy, Kemp Construction did not perform any work on the Lakeland facility as we did not have a signed contract with them, as such they were not "subsequently paid $140,000" for work in or around Lakeland facility."
If they were not paid for construction why were they paid $140,000.00?
The ostrich answer, ie. Stick your head on the ground so no one can see you. Only one step up from the possum answer....
ReplyDeleteIt appears that Bob Charters & Werner Plessel have signed this reply on behalf of the Board.
ReplyDeleteSo, now the entire board is complicit in this matter.
This below is from the HWT website of which Clr. Chad Collins was the past chair and city rep:
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The Hamilton Waterfront Trust is directed by a Board of Trustees consisting of -five- representatives:
2 City of Hamilton representatives,
-Tom Jackson, Councillor, City of Hamilton Representative
-Jason Farr, Councillor, City of Hamilton Representative
1 Hamilton Port Authority representative,
-Jim Cimba
2 Citizen representatives.
-Bob Charters, Chairman, Citizen Representative
(Bob Charter’s bio to follow.)
-Willem de Ruijter, Citizen Representative
(Willem de Ruijter’s bio to follow.)
The Board chooses its own chairperson.
The Board manages and guides a trust fund designated for the development of projects in keeping with the "Deed of Trust agreement" between the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Harbour Commission (now known as the Hamilton Port Authority) and the Federal Government.
Professional staff are in place to successfully plan, execute and complete projects in partnership with and for organizations such as the City of Hamilton and Hamilton Conservation Authority.
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Here is the Partnership with Hamilton Waterfront Trust for Waterfront Trail, Development - SuperBuild Projects
(CS02008) (FCS02015) (City Wide, specifically Wards 2 and 5):
http://www.hamilton.ca/Hamilton.Portal/Inc/PortalPDFs/ClerkPDFs/committee-of-the-whole/2002/Jan22/CS02008.pdf
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From, General Issues Committee, MINUTES, November 14, 2011
http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/A890941C-C0F3-43B7-BBCB-495B2906F067/0/Nov14EDRMS_n236027_v1_000__Minutes__November_14.pdf
.............
12. Hamilton Waterfront Trust Financial Statements
(Item 6.2)
(McHattie/Powers)
(c) That Council continue to provide its confidence in the Hamilton Waterfront
Trust. CARRIED
and
18. Waterfront Outdoor Rink Management Agreement (FCS11106) (City Wide)
(Item 8.4)
(Jackson/Farr)...
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Clrs McHattie/Powers/Jackson/Farr need to immediately explain this behaviour of HWT, in light of above items and this morally repugnant reply of Charter/Plessel.
Clr. Tom Jackson, Clr. Jason Farr, Jim Cimba and Willem de Ruijter appear to have given their ok for such a reply. They need to publicly confirm if that is so.