The Southland Outdoor Stadium Trust must be working off a different calendar…
This poor attempt at rebuttal:
My favourite line was this: The scrutiny over the public’s funding of an event that would clearly benefit Southland was unexpected, he said…
Indeed. How dare anyone question how our taxes and rates are going to be spent.
Second favourite was: He said it was incorrect that he would receive $125,000 in fees if the race went ahead. The amount he would receive was less, he said, but he would not stipulate what that amount was.
Um, it says that in the budget you’re asking Environment Southland to use.
Then we have the intro:
Nine yachts have already signed up for the proposed $1.2 million Auckland-to-Bluff yacht race next year.
But the budget says $1.56 million. Where have the savings come from?
Anyway, if you’re in Bluff today, pop along to the meeting at the Town Hall at 10.30am and you can ask the organisers directly.
James Wilson, Blues RFC stalwart and one of the most all-round gifted footballers I have ever had the pleasure to watch becomes the first Southlander to play in an English premiership final this weekend (Rugby Channel, 2am Sunday morning). He’s marking Manu Tuilagi, who is famous for jumping off Auckland ferries.
Good luck Tintin and Saints, and as this video shows, go low, son, go low.
Unbelievable Arrogance Explained
Posted: May 24, 2013 in UncategorizedTags: Arsehole2Breakfast, ICC wombles, stupid is as stupid does
I was remiss before in not explaining why this is unbelievably arrogant. Whilst the Kremlin might think reserves are play money for them to spend as they like (rather than, say, lessening the impact of rates rises on us), Environment Southland has a clear policy:
Reserves and funds not recorded and accounted for as sectoral interests will be associated with general ratepayers and income derived from the funds will be applied as a funding source to fund activities delivering wider community benefits i.e. in the nature of public goods. Allocation of investment income is independent of the source of the capital that generates the income.
Activities delivering wider community benefits may be funded by a capital value based general rate or a Uniform Annual General Charge. Amounts required are reduced by the allocation of investment income between the two rates based on the proportion each represents of the total of the two.
Is building yacht moorings (something no-one else has ever raised in the past because clearly there has not been a great interest) a ‘wider community benefit’ or in the ‘nature of public goods’?
Yeah, nah.
The “oh, we saw Environment Southland had $6 million in reserves and we thought we’d have some” is second in stupidity only to Argentina invading the Falklands. While there might not be any General Belgrano to sink, watch the Kremlin get shot down and be forced to surrender over this one.
The bad news is, they’ll just take the money out of their reserves – i.e. your pocket.
Want to pop along to the secret meeting with the Bluff Community Board chair and the A2B yacht race organisers to ask a few questions about your rates being used and fill in a few gaps tomorrow?
It’s at 10.30 in the Bluff Council Chambers.
And all I had to do was ring the Kremlin and ask. How helpful.
Well, it probably will now that you’ve mentioned it. #facepalm
Just how do they ensure enough entries for the yacht race? Well, take three eccentric billionaire brothers….
