Eddie And The Three Stooges

No, No, No. I do not mean Curley, Larry and Moe. I do not want to insult them! I am talking about the three Windsor Councillors on the WUC, Councillors Lewenza (the Chair of WUC), Marra and Jones.

A "stooge" is defined as a "flunky: a person of unquestioning obedience" or "acting in a compliant or subordinate manner" or "A person used or controlled by others."

Sure I am acting in a hasty manner, but the May 7, 2007 memo of the WUC Finance Director, Victoria Zuber, sent to the WUC Chair and Commissioners may be one of the smoking guns that could end the politicial careers of a number of people if it proves to be true and accurate. The stories we were given over the past few days by our politicians are starting to ring hollow now.

It should not be a surprise given what she said as well in the 2004 Annual Report .

She wrote in the May memo:

• "Over the past decade, operating costs were recovered, but capital spending was below necessary replacement level and was not recovered in rates…This has resulted in a serious infrastructure deficit…
  
  In 2004, the water main replacement levy was implemented. This levy was intended to be used for capital, but has been required to fund operations. From the effective date of the new rate increase, these funds will not be included as operating revenues and will be accounted for as a fund for capital contribution."

The Commissioners in 2003 were absolutely clear:

• "the capital levy funds can only be used solely and exclusively on watermain infrastructure."

Where were our guardians, our watch-dogs on the Commission, our politicians as these actions were being taken? Her memo seems very clear about funds being diverted from their true purpose. It would only be in August, 2007 when the problem would be corrected. It had NOT been corrected before.

I feel sorry for Bill Marra....He should have learned from the Councillor formerly known as Councillor Budget. Do not ever appear on John Fairley's Face-To-Face show. John just asks the right questions that allows the politicians to hang themselves.

Bill's show was taped after the Francis Council Presentation but before the memo from Zuber was disclosed. You can see exactly how the party line was adopted to try and ride out the storm and downplay it. If the Zuber memo is correct, it makes a mockery out of poor Bill and the Mayor and his explanation and the Eminence Greasie who master-minded the defence!

Lets deal with the main areas of defence:

1) Was there a diversion

Bill congratulated the Mayor for doing a very good job in explaining things at Council. I guess Bill did not read the Zuber memo either or forgot about it even though it was sent to him as a Commissioner. He said that levy money was not used to subsidize operations. He again used the faulty analysis saying that $9M was collected in levies but $27M was spent without adding in what was budgetted and without stating that the levy was always meant as a "top-up." He did NOT explain why the Commissioners' order was ignored for years.

All he said was that the

• "Acccounting practice was not appropriate."

However, is that another "new" issue that has been opened up by Bill although I raised it before? Does that mean the WUC Financial Statements are all wrong and have to be restated and KPMG has to review what they have done for years now? How does that impact the City's Financials?

2) Is an Investigation needed

He followed the Lewenza line...The Mayor explained it so it is time to move on. He specificially was very confident that no fact-finding was needed. He said an audit was done so why bother. Unfortunately for him, this position was undercut by the Mayor in Saturday's Star since the pressure became too much when the smoking gun was found.

And then there was today's Star Editorial! Congratulations, they finally came to the party

3) Was "politics" involved that caused this mess

You remember the Mayor on A-channel News saying it was all "politics" about the rates and the mess we were now in.

That now changed. Bill said that someone made the decision to run the levy funds through Operating and someone was held accountable. Bill told us that there were many changes at WUC and that several people were not there because of this and other issues. In effect all previous WUC Commissioners and employees are now being smeared. Bill should name names or apologize!

Bill seemed to congratulate the Mayor and previous Council for making the changes at the various WUC and Enwin companies but if the Zuber memo is correct, they missed this one badly.

Do we laugh or cry at the antics? This is almost like high drama now or low comedy....Eddie's whiteboard Presentation at Council. Marra on Face-to-Face. Three hours on a CKLW talk-show.

Can you imagine what Eddie's or Bill's faces would have looked like if a cross-examining investigator had showed them the Zuber memo and asked them if they had read it as a member of the WUC right after they gave their explanation of what supposedly went wrong.

With the smoking gun Zuber memo, I am sorry but it appears that Bill, Councillor Lewenza who is the WUC Chair and who should be the one speaking on this subject not the Mayor, and Councillor Jones who has been invisible on this issue are being unquestioningly obedient, acting in a compliant manner or being used. OR frankly they have no idea whatsoever what is going on!

Councillor Jones should be Windsorites' biggest ally. Back in May, 2005 when he was on WUC as a Commissioner, he said:

• "WUC wants to spend $6.8 million to rehabilitate watermains this year.
  
  "We are determined to find out if we are getting the service we are paying for," coun. Ron Jones said."

In the circustances, how well did he do his job? Aren't the requests by Windsorites for an investigation nothing more than repeating what the Councillor said then:

• are [we] getting the service we are paying for?

By the way, what has the Councillor formerly known as Councillor Budget had to say about all of this. He seems conspicuous by his silence too considering he used to be a WUC Commissioner. If he knows financial statements and audits so well, how did this escape his eagle budget eyes? Ducking your head and hoping that this all goes away are hardly the actions that someone who seems to want to run for Mayor should be taking.

If the Zuber memo had not been found, this would all have blown over with the Schwartz/DRIC diversionary story taking over in Henderson's column and in the news pages.

Now the real issue is whether a "cover-up" was attempted, designed to fool taxpayers, and if so, who were involved and what the consequences will be to those who tried to do so.

A full investigation of the facts is required, not merely an "audit." As I read on some BLOGsites, perhaps we need a judicial inquiry with people being put under oath as this moves forward

This story is just beginning!