Chris Johnson writes:
If the money is spent, but not
reimbursed, as the writers freely admit, then where did the cash come from?
Which account or other purpose was raided to spend it? It's not like someone
lost a pocketful of change and it was covered from petty cash. $83,000 is a
lot of money. LNA wrote it off -- but all that means is hay had an
unrecovered loss. They still LOST $83,000 somehow. How? That's what Ms.
Pareene seems to be asking. And that's what many of us would like to know, too.
I assume you have read the letter from the auditor that makes it
clearer, but the money came from payroll, and whatever account is
associated with. For whatever reason (I don't understand well, not being
on LNA), it was not reimbursed by NRP. Say whatever you want about why
that happened, but where the money went is abundantly clear.
I'd also like to know why some neighborhood associations spent tens of
thousands of dollars of NRP money on staff time and related expenses (e.g.
telephones at $8,000) and others spent nearly zero on staff, making do with
almost all volunteer efforts. That difference really does add ammunition to
the critics of NRP who say that political hacks just abuse NRP as yet another
way to belly up to the public trough.
As a devoted NRP volunteer, I take a good deal of offense from this. The
Lyndale volunteers are amazing, and LNA's accomplishments are nationally
recognized. But does Mr. Johnson truly think that all of LNA's
accomplishments can be achieved by volunteers? There aren't enough free
man-hours in the entire neighborhood, I'd wager. NRP is about improving
our neighborhoods, and in many neighborhoods, that requires being active
and making opportunities happen. Volunteers do not have the time or
wherewithal.
--Jeff Rosenberg
Live East Isles
School Cedar-Riverside
Secretary, Cedar-Riverside NRP Steering Committee
REMINDERS:
1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If
you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL
PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.
2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html
For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn
E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[email protected]
Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
