Issues in Summerside demand answers

Financial, other concerns about call centre, golf course, council raises, Port Authority

Letters have been printed over the past month regarding two issues in Summerside. The first letter was concerning the mayor and city council disclosing some high end spending of taxpayers’ dollars, involving taxpayers’ money on a number of issues.

1) Old Co-op replaced by a call centre, purchased by city council at an estimate of $1.3 million, plus I do believe federal money allocated here.

2) Followed by the purchase of the Summerside Golf Course in Linkletter, loaning the Chinese businessman $900,000 of taxpayers’ money.

3) The issue of generous raises (22 per cent and 24 per cent) for mayor and council, since elected in 2014, is nothing short of outrageous. Taxpayers are still waiting for these answers.

The second issue of interest is the Summerside Port Authority building, an establishment to be leased out to a new business owner. The Port Authority was exposed for not have building permits after the building is 3/4 completed. How could this be? Wellington Construction is doing the work, how could this be? All the contractors I have talked to tell me a building cannot be started with proper permits, as it is mandatory any buildings are monitored by inspectors, to see, in fact, that permits are in place.

The questions and concerns I am inquiring about are very simple to answer. Every citizen in Summerside has the constitutional right, as well protected under the Charter, to have full disclosure of where his or her hard-earned tax dollars are spent. What are all these “no comments” from Summerside officials and Port Authority officials? It’s never hard to talk in public if you are telling the truth. This non-disclosure causes a lot of unwarranted gossip. Our fine elected officials had better revisit this issue and disclose to the public just what is going on. That is your elected duty to the electorate.

I would remind all taxpayers to Google the Summerside Port Authority to see the board names listed. The city of Summerside has served a “Cease to Work Order” on the Dixie Lee establishment dated June 2, 2017.

Our present CAO, Mr. Bob Ashley and our former CAO, Mr. Terry Murphy, are on this board, plus four others. Why did it take the city months before serving this order? What process follows as per regulations of the By-law?

These very important issues require full disclosure. Again, why all the silence?