Continuing Looking Back - Kensington Island Properties and Union Bay

The post Kensington Island Properties and Union Bay was getting too long so I'm continuing it here for a while.

It's getting hard to decide what to post as I have so much material.  Of course, now looking back and seeing who was involved, is very interesting.  Will be attending UBID offices to obtain documents I'm missing.  It's always wise to keep copies of documents available, otherwise it could be costly to obtain through UBID as per Bylaw No. 223.

Posted on OnlyAsking.Com  Sept. 7, 2006.

Text Below:

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Jennifer Keenan, Chairperson
Sharon McGarvey, Secretary
Doug Geidt

Resources:
Tom Reid, Sussex Consultants Ltd.
Felicity Adams, Senior Planning Analyst,
- Local Government Structure Branch, Ministry of Community Services

Call to order:

All Committee members were in attendance and the meeting was called to order at 12:10 pm by Jennifer Keenan. The agenda was reviewed, two items were added:
• Committee Name:
o There was a brief discussion on the official name of the Committee; it was agreed that this Committee would be called the Union Bay Restructure Referendum Committee.
• Committee Members:
o After discussion and comparison with other communities’ referendum process, it was agreed that Suzanne Murray would be asked to continue her Ex-officio position on the Committee.
The meeting proceeded.

1. CORRESPONDENCE:
a. Ministry of Community Services:
• Two letters from the Ministry to Union Bay Improvement District (UBID) and the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona (RDCS) were reviewed and discussed. The letters clarified the positions of both the UBID and the RDCS.
• The August 9, 2006 letter from the Minister approving the incorporation vote and grant was also reviewed.
b. Union Bay Residents Association and David Molstad
• The Committee received a letter from Union Bay Residents Association (UBRA); Sussex Consulting received a letter from David Molstad. Both letters requested specific information on certain issues.
• There was discussion on the best way to process requests for information. It was agreed that all requests would be handled by Tom. He would review, and if appropriate, respond to questions by posting answers on our web page.
• There was further discussion on ensuring that correct and accurate information is available to the public. Felicity and Tom both monitor other web pages which are being used to publish information such as www.onlyasking.com; they expressed concern that the information on these web pages is not always complete or accurate.
• It was agreed that the other web pages would continue to be monitored and if there was misinformation on the other web pages, we would ensure that the correct information was available on our web page www.BaynesSound.ca.
• It was agreed that only proper requests for information (either by email, letter or phone call) would be responded to by the Committee or by Tom.
• It was further agreed that we will not identify the source of the questions and that, where possible, responses to similar questions would be batched.

2. COMMITTEE PROCESS:
a. Public access to Committee meetings:
• All future Committee meetings will be held in a publicly accessible area, the dates and times of the meetings will be posted on the web page and a notice displayed in the post office on the bulletin board.
• It was agreed that the next meeting would be held at the post office in the Historical Society’s Board room. The rent is minimal at $15 per meeting.
b. Consensus or voting:
• After discussion it was determined that all decisions of the Committee would be by consensus
c. Committee Minutes:
• After the meeting minutes have been approved by the Committee they will be posted on the web page
d. Budgets and responsibility:
• The budget that was submitted to the Ministry, and approved and funded was reviewed by the Committee members.

3. PUBLIC MEETINGS:
a. Number of public meetings:
• After discussion it was decided that although only 2 public meetings had been budgeted for by Tom, the Committee had budgeted for a possible third meeting.
• The Committee agreed that providing three separate days for public meetings and having a daytime and evening meeting on each day would meet the needs of the Community members on the whole.
b. Format for each meeting:
• The meeting format and topics were discussed at length. It was agreed that the first meeting would be on Governance, the second on Services and Taxes, with the third meeting a review of both topics and any related material arising from the other two meetings.
• An outside the area moderator will be hired to attend and guide all three meetings.
• The Committee will determine what type of format and time issues will be required at each future public meeting at a future Committee meeting.
c. Dates for Public Meetings:
• After lengthy discussion and schedule reviews the Committee selected Wednesday, September 20, Monday, October 2 and Saturday, October 14 for the public meetings. These dates are to be confirmed with the UBCC for availability.
• Details of the actual door opening and meeting times were also discussed.
• The tentative advance poll dates of October 11 and 18, and the Referendum date of October 21, were also discussed.

4. COMMUNITY MAIL-OUTS:
a. Number of mail-outs:
• After lengthy discussion it was decided that in the interest of providing as much information as possible, in a fashion that would be easily digested by the Community, three - two page newsletters would be mailed out instead of two - four page newsletters.
• It was also decided that for the first mail-out, we would include a separate, coloured sheet which would have the location, meeting dates and times, proposed topics and a map of the proposed municipal boundaries. The Committee decided that including the meeting topics would help make the public aware of the key points for discussion.
• It was also decided that the Committee’s contact information along with the Chief Election Officer’s contact information would be included on that separate page.
• There was further discussion on the newsletter regarding when they should be sent out. It was agreed that the newsletters would be prepared and mailed out the week before each public meeting. The dates for the mail outs were September 8, 19 and October 3.
• It was also noted that all of the information provided in the newsletter would also be available on the web page.
b. Mailing list and postage:
• It was agreed that the mailing list would be the UBID’s list and that in order to reach the renters, extra copies of the newsletters would be dropped off at the post office and at rural boxes.
• Sharon will take care of the postage and mailing of the newsletters.
c. Full Report and Summary:
• The new figures are available, Tom will prepare the report and provide copies to the Committee members, and provide loaning copies to the UBID and the Library in Union Bay. It will also be published on the web page.
• An 8 page summary will be prepared, copies of it will be available at each public meeting.

5. NEWSPAPER ADS:
a. Echo, Record and Down by the Bay:
• After discussion it was agreed that Tom will prepare ads for the 2 local papers and Down by the Bay. The ads will include the location, dates and times, the proposed agendas, the web page and contact information. The ads are to be placed in the paper one week before the meetings, and in both the September and October issues of the Down by the Bay.
• The Committee also decided that the dates of all public meetings would be sent to the Community Calendar pages at each of the local papers.


6. COMMUNICATION POLICIES:
a. Extra meetings with special groups or organizations:
• After lengthy discussion it was agreed that there would be no special meetings with special interest groups. It was decided that if there was an interest in meeting, the best way to accommodate the special groups was to invite them to the public meetings ½ hour before the start time. The Committee and Tom will be set up and ready approximately an hour before the meeting time and available to talk to groups then.
b. Press Releases:
• After discussion, it was agreed that the Committee give Tom the authority to respond to questions either from the papers or the public on our behalf.
• If the Committee receives technical questions, we will refer them to Tom; if we are contacted regarding other issues (voting, Ministry concerns) we will redirect them to the appropriate source.
• It was also noted that our role is to host the information available, provide it to the public and act as liaisons between the Community and the Ministry.
• It was re-confirmed that this Committee has NO OPINION or view on this referendum and will express none.
• It was also agreed that we would not do a press release as a Committee. All important information will be available through the ads that will be placed in the local papers.
c. Coordination of responses to public questions:
• It was agreed that Jennifer Keenan, Chairperson, will be the spokesperson for the Committee.
• Tom and Jennifer will work together on inquires. They will keep track of the questions and responses for our records.
• As required, responses will be discussed with the Committee prior to publication on the web page or release to the public.

7. TIMETABLE FOR DRAFT REPORT:
• Tom will prepare another technical report using the new figures. It will be approximately 45 pages long. His intention is to complete the report by August 28, and have it ready for presentation to the Committee at our next meeting.
• Appropriate material from the report will be included in the first newsletter and in keeping with the first public meeting’s agenda.
• The Report will include a section on the impact to the remaining tax payers in the study area.

8. SERVICE ANALYSIS AND LETTERS PATENT:
a. Role of the Committee:
• Felicity Adams will review the current level of services provided by the Regional District; she will indicate which ones a municipality would assume and which ones will continue under the Regional District.
• Meetings will need to be set up between the Ministry (Derek Trimmer will attend), the Regional District, the UBID as well as with the Committee.
• It is anticipated that all three meetings will be done in one day.
• Felicity will advise the Committee Chair when this will happen.
• Felicity will also be reviewing the Letters Patent prior to the vote.

9. There was no other business.

10. The next meeting will be held on August 31, 2006, at 1:00 pm in the Union Bay Historical Board room, at the post office.



To Do List:

1. Sharon to contact Suzanne Murray regarding sitting on the Committee
2. Sharon to get copies of the UBRA and D. Molstad’s letters
3. Tom to respond on our web page to the two letters
4. Sharon to confirm dates with UBCC for public meetings
5. Tom to do 10 copies of a laminate version of the information sheet from the 1st mail-out
6. Sharon to contact the UBID and the Library to ensure that they are willing to have a lending copy and deal with the public with regards to it
7. Sharon to send dates to the local papers for the Community Calendar pages
8. Sharon to set up next meeting date and rental of the UBHS Board room
9. Sharon to post notice of the next meeting at the post office noting that the public are welcome to attend and observe
10. Tom to include dates and times of Committee meetings on the web page

Something Beautiful By A Union Bay Resident

Thank you Linda for allowing me to share this. 

Romeo Dallaire

Romeo Dallaire: Senator Predicts Arab Spring And Occupy Wall Street Are Just the Beginning

If there were two things that defined 2011, they were the Arab Spring uprisings that threw the Middle East into turmoil and the Occupy Wall Street protests in North America and Europe. But Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, the former U.N. general lionized for leading the besieged peacekeepers during the Rwandan Genocide, says a third revolution connects the two movements — the communications revolution.

“We are in an era of conflict with a certain world disorder, a time of revolutions, with the communications revolution being one,” Dallaire tells Huffington Post Canada.

Dallaire begs to differ with author Malcolm Gladwell's argument in his essay “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted," that technology and social media play no real role in high-risk activism,

“It's starting. We are entering an era where the revolution in communications is empowering the under-25s and they're able to start realizing that they can coalesce in real-time around the world. They’re also getting more information about what's going on around them, whether they want it or not, because it's all being punched out every minute,” he says, adding that their power extends beyond protests.

“The 2.9 million votes that they represent (in Canada) have never been used and there are MPs who are elected with less than 50 votes. That means one class out of a political science course at U of T could have gone and voted and there would have been a different result at the end. So they hold the balance of power in our democracy with that vote.”

Dallaire notes that the politicization of Canada’s youth hit a tipping point last summer when Parliamentary page Brigette DePape held up her 'Stop Harper' sign during the throne speech.

“The gesture of that young page in the Senate has got to be one of the most significant expressions of opinion of that generation of under-25s has yet seen in this country. You've got all the Senators, all the MPs, the Governor-General, you've got the Prime Minister, the Chief of Defence staff, the Superintendent of the RCMP, all the Justices of the Supreme Court, you've got the whole gallery, you've got the whole country's media in this incredibly decorous room and she goes and walks in the middle of that, very stoically, and puts her sign up, turns around and shows her sign to the other gallery and then is escorted away. No screaming, no yelling, (just) enormous dignity.”

About a month later, her singular statement was amplified a thousandfold when Vancouver-based Adbusters suggested protestors take inspiration from the Arab Spring and tweeted the hashtag #OccupyWallStreet.

Dallaire says Occupy is a “magnificent” movement that finally calls out the one per cent for taking advantage of the other 99. “It's been since the ‘60s that we've waited for something like this,” he says, adding “the greed side of capitalism irks me significantly.” In particular, he’s upset at the ongoing economic crisis being used as an excuse for isolationism.

“In these capitalist-based democracies, which are not necessarily social democracies, it's fast and very efficient to simply say ‘hey, jeez, we've got economic problems here, so we (should) hunker down and try to sort out our own.’ In so doing, they can drop soft objectives like human rights because they can get away with it.”
But as this tumultuous year winds down, Dallaire hopes we look at the bright side of all this global unrest.

“It can be perceived as a very negative time or it can be perceived as a very positive exercise in maximizing all that energy. We're moving towards more of these revolutions that I consider positive assets in significantly shifting the state of the people in those nations: their human rights and their ability to progress and to have hope. They can do this by not just force of arms, but by using the technologies that are available to get engagement by the international community,” he says.

“They don't use landlines. They use cell phones. So they can coalesce, if they want to, exceptionally rapidly. It's interesting how that (communications) revolution will influence the future. It's something to be watched. Are the political elites fast enough on their feet to stay ahead of the game? Let's say they're holding their own, barely.”
Article on the Huffington Post

More of the Bullshit We've Been Fed Regarding Kensington Island Properties Union Bay

This Editorial  Was Published in The Comox Valley Record - 

it was bad enough at the time.  When I read it now - it pisses me off even more!

Democracy loses

The Courtenay Comox Valley Record.  Courtenay, B.C.:Feb 15, 2008.  p. A34
Full Text
 (297  words)
(Copyright (c) 2008 Black Press Group Ltd.)

If democracy manifests the will of the majority, then what has happened with the Kensington Island Properties proposal is most undemocratic.

It's been obvious for some time that a clear majority of Union Bay residents approved of KIP's 342-hectare development proposal called Kensington Coastal Pointe.

After an agonizing decade-long process culminating in Kensington meeting more than 20 conditions insisted upon by the Comox Strathcona Regional District (CSRD), KIP finally appeared to have a green light late last year.

That's when a small group of dissidents calling themselves the Baynes Sound Area Society for Sustainability (BSASS) appealed at the 11th hour to some skilful development-killers from Victoria.

In short order, a lawsuit was filed and the K'omoks Band adopted a hard-line stance absent in previous discussions with Kensington.

With new demands from the local native band and a predictable complaint about lack of consultation, the provincial government withheld approval of bylaws necessary for the project to proceed.

Kensington vice-president Brian McMahon could not be blamed for throwing up his hands and walking away.

Valley residents should be vigilant to protect their interests and way of life in the face of major developments proposed for the area -- and that is not meant to criticize the Trilogy project in Cumberland.

But Coastal Pointe is a responsible development that even includes provision for Habitat for Humanity housing. Kensington improved salmon habitat in Washer Creek and was prepared to pay a significant part of the cost for a badly needed water filtration system, sewage treatment system and a new fire hall.

If Kensington walks away, how will the 1,000 residents of Union Bay pay for that?

God help the people in Union Bay who helped to kill the project if they're ever overheard complaining about having to pay their share.

editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com

What a pile of bullshit!  This is a guy the community is to look to for accurate information?  Did Allen not read the ruling from the judge? Does Allen not get it that the Regional District illegally changed the bylaws which resulted in the lawsuit?  Where's that fire hall KIP is so generously giving Union Bay you refer to, Mark?  Where's the fucking accuracy?  Puts the Comox Valley Record in the "Rag" category. 

Luckily, I don't count on some imaginary being to help me.  I will be proud to be a part of seeing this development bite the dust, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.  There are people in this community who will do anything to advance themselves financially.  Greed, plain and simple.

If Kensington Island Properties wants to go ahead, they will have to make huge changes to their plans.  The editorial got one thing right regarding keeping an eye on things:  "be vigilant to protect their interests and way of life in the face of major developments proposed for the area"

In April 2011, I stated they had another worthless document http://maryreynoldsunionbayblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/kensington-island-properties.html

In My Opinion, Kensington Island Properties is done.

All I have left to do is celebrate!!

Happy Holidays - Thanks for Visiting

Edit: 4:16 pm.  Hi to Dave Molstad - saw you just visited my blog.  Hope you enjoy! Hi to Carol.

I seem to be more known now, than when I had All Things Union Bay.  Surprised at the results now when Union Bay Improvement District is Googled compared to 2010. Surprising really, since most people didn't know I had a blog.

With 2012 around the corner and court dates coming up, it's time to reflect on how I arrived at this position.  Although it's expensive to fight for what is right - it's definitely worth it. It all started in Jan. 2006 when I joined the Union Bay Residents Association and was one of the enthusiastic supporters of Kensington Island Properties.

As I've stated before, Kensington Island Properties, it's VP, and his enthusiastic supporters have screwed our community.  This is when I reared my ugly head and started asking questions of UBRA and how it was run, and the closeness with the VP of KIP, including members of the Union Bay Improvement District.  Asking questions of UBID raised red flags all over the place. No one liked me asking questions, which of course, causes one to ask more questions.  My opinion and conclusion:  Our Improvement District has not been run in the best interest of the community for years.

Priority has been given to Kensington Island Properties.  It is my opinion that Union Bay has been manipulated by this developer since the year 2000.  Befriending those with little intelligence promising a better life in exchange for their enthusiastic support.  Patting them on their little heads telling them how smart they are, they could be in the driver's seat negotiating directly with KIP (bypassing the RD), Union Bay would get the DCC instead of the RD.  Hmm what happened there?

The VP himself isn't exactly 'gifted', so he's certainly not going to surround himself with anyone smarter.  KIP's entourage doesn't consist of Mensa members.  Just a bunch of lackeys thinking they've latched onto the money train.

The more I dig, the more those dirty little fingers of KIP show up.  Kip is always the common denominator.  Just try to get the VP to answer any questions.  Only appears when the questions are controlled.  The VP of KIP has become a phantom - appears out of thin air and then is gone again.  The local papers love printing pictures of him posing, pointing, signing and handshaking - don't expect any information.

I'm going to post the editorial Mark Allen of the Comox Valley Record authored.  Mark Allen should choke on those words.  If Mark Allen thinks he writes impartial unbiased editorials - think again.  The Comox Valley Record refuses to provide balanced reporting on the political shit storm in Union Bay.

next post will have editorial.  FUVM

Where Every Day Is Christmas

Thought this was pretty funny.  From the Province Newspaper.

Christmas in prison — you’d be surprised at how similar it is to the world beyond the fence. The only thing missing is the rum … and the eggnog … and the crackling fireplace … and the cinnamon-scented snow-bunny cooing select bars of “Let It Snow” in my ear. OK, so it’s a little different. But on a week when all of capitalism is stuffing its boxes with fantasies-on-credit, I’m remembering some other gift-wrapped containers littering the annals of Big House infamy — like the one used in an escape from maximum security a dozen springtimes ago.

I’ve always wondered what the officer running the admission and discharge desk at Kent Institution was thinking that day. It was a Wednesday and, according to rumour, the con who showed up at the desk that morning was the only one being released for the week. Maximum security is the original “Roach Motel” — many check in, few leave. The guy had only been in for a couple of years, so he couldn’t have had much in the way of personal property; a portable TV maybe, some personal clothing, a few salacious snapshots of girls gone by.

And an oversized, heavy-gauge cardboard box, smothered in clear packing tape.

“What’s in the big box?” the officer guarding the desk must have asked.

“Oh, just hobby stuff,” said the poker-faced con. As the story goes, he then wove an elaborate tale of some off-shift hobbies officer who had bundled up the table-sized parcel the previous evening. Apparently, the soon-to-be-ex con even had the right forms — meticulously completed and signed.

Less work for me, the guard must have thought. Or maybe his frontal lobe was filled with daydreams of double-overtime paycheques. Regardless, this was the fork in the road where due process and due diligence parted company. Big mistake. Prison may not be the first place you’d go looking for a MENSA meeting, but it is a place with no shortage of balls. read article.

More Kensington Island Properties Plans for Union Bay

Kensington Island Properties plan for municipal offices, fire hall, school, info centre

 

 Kensington Island Properties Hilltown Community

Contacting the Owner of Kensington Island Properties

http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/cgi-bin/top10.pl?rm=show_top10_project&id=60291d5579b618778e554c7e3e02d8b8acd47d0e&projectid=9021965&region=western

 http://www.joconl.com/cgi-bin/top10.pl?rm=show_top10_project&id=ba787cf81d9ecc67e60624c6b582fab197d5b725&projectid=9021963&region=western

If You're Interested - Kensington Island Properties Submissions

The Regional District has made so much available to view involving Kensington Island Properties hearings over the years.  The submissions are so interesting to read because you see what people 'believed' then, and why they supported Kensington Island Properties. This will get you started:   KIP -Bylaws 56 and 57, Dec. 2009

Those who submitted their opposition or support should look back.

Are the reasons still there?

Has anything changed?

The following submission was made by our present Chair of the Union Bay Improvement District, at the hearings in Dec. 2009, regarding Kensington Island Properties.  It is such a good submission, unfortunately, the Regional District filed this and similar ones under "neutral".

Kensington Island Properties Letter Forwarded to Hagen

The previous letter from VP of Kensington Island Properties (June 4 2002) then forwarded to Stan Hagen by Economic Development Officer.

Excellent Letter by B. Brandt

	Tuesday » December 20 » 2011
Still waiting for answers about election   B. Brandt Comox Valley Echo Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Having just returned from a lengthy stay in the Maritimes, I was scanning through a backlog of local papers and was surprised to learn about a shadowy group that seems to have sprung up out of nowhere to play a major part in our civic elections. "Common Sense" (CS), as they call themselves, seems to be comprised of a spokesperson and mysterious, anonymous and evidently wealthy individuals who spent copious amounts of money and endorsed a number of candidates who then went on to be elected on November 19th. I have to admit I'm stumped. Who are they? Recently crowned Courtenay Mayor Jangula is quoted as saying he likely knows who they are but won't divulge their identities. Why not? What does Larry Jangula owe the CS group for their endorsement? Is he a member himself? Repeated attempts by numerous individuals and local media to get information on CS have been met with obfuscation and denial. So who has deep pockets, prefers anonymity, uses "front" organizations to maintain that anonymity and would clearly benefit from having local politicians in their pocket? Complete article at: http://www2.canada.com/comoxvalleyecho/story.html?id=b45f25ea-75d2-4292-8f84-5169b84feab8

Looking Back

In 2006 when I became a member of the Union Bay Residents Association and a supporter of Kensington Island Properties, I had no idea how low individuals would stoop to push this project through in order to get what they wanted - to hell with the rest of the community.

Elected and unelected individuals decided behind our back what Kensington Island Properties would get - including water from Langley Lake.  Union Bay Residents Association, Union Bay Trustees, and the VP of Kensington Island Properties pushed for municipality status knowing the water source would be changed from what was promised by Bob Long in Mar. 2006.  

I came across a letter from VP McMahon to Jack Turner when Turner was on the Regional District in 2002.  They must have really hit it off since Jack Turner was involved in the changing of the water source in that meeting where Jack advised he had gleaned information from the Regional District that Van West Lakes wasn't as pristine as first thought.  The solution:  Jack and his buddies in UBRA decided Langley Lake would be the water source for Kensington Island Properties if the outcome of the municipality referendum was a YES.

What the hell is a Fanny Bay resident doing fucking with our community?  Jack was at the first meeting of the Union Bay Residents Association supporting KIP, and continued sticking his nose in our business to the point where he's involved in changing the water source secretly in 2006.

Dirty little fingers.

It's so interesting going back and reading what the above individuals said and did, when they thought no one would ever bother to go back and actually pay attention.

Surprise!  Let's see what we can dig up, shall we?

This is the letter from McMahon to Jack Turner of the Regional District.

Does anyone else think this is very interesting?

I just have to mention this.  Does Mr. Successful, the Saviour, VP of KIP have any letterhead?  Who is this guy?  Does he live in a cave?  Where is his business office?  Ya I have a lot of confidence in a business with a cut and paste letterhead.  Maybe they don't want to spend the money because they know their project is going belly up as it exists today!

RIP ALL THINGS UNION BAY

2007 - 2011

A timeline of what has been done intentionally 

to the community of Union Bay.

 

Never Give Up. 

 The truth will be revealed - just not on

All Things Union Bay.

The Christmas Season

Flashmob - Deck the Halls

http://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/holiday11/

The Christmas Season is wonderful for those of us with vehicles and good health.  We don't have to give a second thought to picking something up when needed.

There are residents in Union Bay who are without vehicles and require a ride now and then for things like doctors appointments, prescriptions, shopping, etc.

I bumped into a Union Bay resident last week in Cumberland, who had left Union Bay on the bus at 10 a.m. for a 2 p.m. appointment in Cumberland.  It would be 6 p.m. by the time they returned home to Union Bay.  Terrible.

This individual is known by a lot of people but I think asking for help probably doesn't come easy, so friends probably don't know they could even offer assistance.

Friends without vehicles would probably appreciate an offer of a ride without having to ask. Don't forget the Union Bay section of The Cumberlander has a classified section where you can put an ad for free.  http://www.thecumberlander.ca/cgi-bin/show_classads.cgi?TOPIC=0&S=1&EXP=0&ISTART=undefined&NSHOW=undefined

I Forgot!

Wow, where did the time go?  I completely forgot to mark the first anniversary of the "Mob" who attended the December 15, 2010, UBID Meeting resulting in the illegal closing of our public meetings until the next election.  

Is it okay to wish Happy Anniversary to that Mob, or is that sending the wrong message?

Accountability - Is it Possible?

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability


Accountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving. As an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public sector, nonprofit and private (corporate) worlds. In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences.

As a term related to governance, accountability has been difficult to define. It is frequently described as an account-giving relationship between individuals, e.g. "A is accountable to B when A is obliged to inform B about A’s (past or future) actions and decisions, to justify them, and to suffer punishment in the case of eventual misconduct".  Accountability cannot exist without proper accounting practices; in other words, an absence of accounting means an absence of accountability.