MLA Repaying $67,000 For Renos

[MaryG]

What are "constituency funds"? Bob Vernon - help me out here...are we on the hook in a different way????


http://www.1075kiss.com/kiss-news/lates ... -for-renos

Vernon Liberal M-L-A Eric Foster is having to repay $67,000 in tax money he spent renovating his constituency office after a review of the spending by Auditor General John Doyle.

The audit took exception to the work done at the rented building owned by Foster's assistant -- work that included installing a new four-tonne heat pump, furnace, wiring, windows and plumbing.

Foster says he wonders why he's been put under the microscope.

''I find it interesting that I'm the only person that anybody looked at for the renovations, and it just all of sudden seemed to happen over the last couple of months. It just seems strange to me that people that are paying a lot more rent than I am, or had renovations done over the years, that nobody's ever questioned them."

Foster was the chair of an all-party committee that rejected rehiring Doyle for a second term.

He says he's now repaying $67,000 to the legislature from his constituency funds.

Auditor General John Doyle says he audited the renovations to Foster's office because there were few records on the work.

Doyle says his audit determined the renovations amounted to taxpayers paying to improve the building.

"When they're really the responsibility of the landlord and they should be recovered over a considerable amount of time in the lease payments," Doyle told The Canadian Press.

Doyle says the improvements made to the property appeared to be above and beyond the type of renovation needed to customize the space for use as a constituency office.

[gordon_as]

So Mr Foster used taxpayer $$ to overhaul a building that is owned by his assistant.
Nothing wrong with that through a politicians eyes.
Once again someone we elect and pay well to represent us gets caught with his hand in our cookie jar.
No problem just make everything right by repaying it with money from our other pocket.
The building owner should be paying for every penny of the work out of there own pocket.

Just because we the taxpayer don't know about all the backroom deals , doesn't mean we are to stupid to know when we have been had . All political parties are rife with corruption. Why can't we just fire the people we hired , and never have to pay them a penny more. Politicians should be forced to live in the same world of reality as the rest of us.

[kgcayenne]

deleted... n/m re-read the original post.

Basssturd politicians.

[Rwede]

Most leases have HVAC as the responsibility of the landlord, but certainly not all do. One of my commercial tenants has HVAC as their responsibility.

It's hard to tell from Doyle's wording and the news story whether this lease was structured as one in which HVAC was the lessee's responsibility. This a bit wishy-washy to me: "Doyle says the improvements made to the property appeared to be above and beyond the type of renovation needed to customize the space for use as a constituency office."

If it was outside the lessee's responsibility, then it is reasonable that the money be paid back.

[solidfiction]

Most leases have HVAC as the responsibility of the landlord, but certainly not all do. One of my commercial tenants has HVAC as their responsibility.

It's hard to tell from Doyle's wording and the news story whether this lease was structured as one in which HVAC was the lessee's responsibility. This a bit wishy-washy to me: "Doyle says the improvements made to the property appeared to be above and beyond the type of renovation needed to customize the space for use as a constituency office."

If it was outside the lessee's responsibility, then it is reasonable that the money be paid back.

I read over the first bit of information on this deal a few weeks ago when it first hit the news.It looks to me like he has a champane taste with a beer budget.He agreed to a lease on a building.He required (wanted) more renos than the owner wanted to pay for so he said not to worry i will put it through on my office reno exspence account( no one will notice) and he simply got caught

[bob vernon]

Yeah, I think that it just comes out of the money for his constituency office, instead of a one time payment to the landlord to tweak the building to suit the new tenant. Either way, the taxpayer is on the hook for it. It sure looks like a scam to fix up a building while the MLA rents it, and then the landlord has a fixed up building, paid for by us when the MLA moves out.

When you rent a building, it should have functioning furnace, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and windows and doors. I can see paint and carpets.... but the rest?

[George+]

A relative of Foster's had at least $250, 000
Paid out to him.
See today's Kelowna Courier.

[jimsenchuk]

http://www.bcauditor.com/pubs/2013/repo ... rds-update

[ole smelly]

Good for him I saw that slime ball attend events at the Vantage one centre, run for the cure and terry fox run . NEVER ONCE HAS THE CLOWN GOT HIS SMELLY REAR END INTO AN EVENT. He is there just for the photo shoot a complete and unadulterated creepo.

[Rwede]

A relative of Foster's had at least $250, 000
Paid out to him.
See today's Kelowna Courier.

You got that wrong. Foster's lease and renos were $250,000. The owner of the building was not a relative. I don't think Ravinder Sidhu and Eric Foster are even remotely related!

[bob vernon]

Take a look around downtown Vernon. There are all kinds of buildings, in very good condition, that could have been rented. Without spending a lot of cash on renovating it.

It's obvious what happened. Foster's constituency assistant's family owned the building and got new furnace, heat pump, windows, doors, wiring, and plumbing done using taxpayers' dollars. Foster has rented the building for a few years. It looks like he'll be moving out this spring, and then the assistant's family will be left with the nice renovated building.... worth a lot more than before.

[danmartin]

Take a look around downtown Vernon. There are all kinds of buildings, in very good condition, that could have been rented. Without spending a lot of cash on renovating it.

It's obvious what happened. Foster's constituency assistant's family owned the building and got new furnace, heat pump, windows, doors, wiring, and plumbing done using taxpayers' dollars. Foster has rented the building for a few years. It looks like he'll be moving out this spring, and then the assistant's family will be left with the nice renovated building.... worth a lot more than before.

Bob, you pretty much describe the situation as it appears to me as well. I see empty office space all over Vernon and know that much of it can be leased at very good prices without doing any renos!!! Something sure doesn't smell quite right here?

[grammafreddy]

Y'know, I think its time some of these sleazy politicians started doing some serious jail time for their dishonest, crooked endeavours. I also think they should lose their pensions and the money they would have collected go back to the taxpayers in their constituencies through community grants.

[gordon_as]

Absolutely GF , 100 % correct. Nothing will change until the politicians are held accountable.

Nothing would make me happier than to see a couple of political big shots doing a bit of jail time and loosing their ridiculous pension. No particular party in Mind , they are all crooked as far as I can see.

For as far back as I can remember , BC politics has been one scandal after the other , doesn't matter which party in in power it's always the same.
Same goes for Federal Politicians , except their arrogance and transgressions are 10 fold of their provincial counterparts.

Hey green party and others ! You could win the next election if your entire platform was to pass laws that make all future MLA' s more likely to actually follow the rules instead of just saying oops my mistake and then carrying on sponging off us for years.

[squirt10]

Iam curious as to who did the renos? were the renovation companys also a relative of Mr fosters ? staff? or a relative of the owner/ Time for foster to go..the ordinary citzen doesnt get to pay back dishonest crimes he/she gets to do the time..Time is up for Mr.Foster..election time..Sure, if he wasnt called on this there would of been no pay-back and wheres this money comming from another liberal party fund at the tax payers expense..Utterly ridicoulos.Vote for someone who cares about where money goes.. ..Sorry doesnt cut it for me.. also is rahinder sanhu (sid) still vice chair of the Provincial Land Reserve Commission?

























9Sid)