Saturday, May 01, 2010

Standard-Examiner: Tour de Drome Fundraiser Kicks Off This Morning

This morning's fundraiser raises a few technical questions

This morning's Standard-Examiner provides an interesting story this morning, concerning The Tour de Drome, a fundraiser for a proposed $15 million field house and velodrome in Ogden, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today at Lorin Farr Park, 1691 Gramercy Avenue:
Ogden's Tour de Drome offers 3 bike routes; fundraiser sets off today
Except for this morning's SE story, this event has been mostly under the public radar screen. However gentle reader very skeptical did tip us off earlier to an interesting discussion on this topic occurring at the end of last Tuesday's 4/27/10) City Council meeting:
...The 100 mile Bike ride to raise funding for the Mayors Velodrome project was discussed in Council meeting tonight. Pureheart Patterson said that the Ogden Community Foundation is handling the funds generated from the event, he stated that it is a fund raiser, and that the corrupt foundation will bank the expected $15,000 from the event.
Being the curious type, we viewed the council video (select the 4/27/10 meeting and fast forward to 42:06), in which Councilmember Van Hooser asked the following probing questions of Ogden CAO John "Pureheart" Patterson:

1) Who is the major sponsor; is it Ogden City?
2) If it is Ogden City, where are the funds to be kept?

Patterson's response was typically non-responsive and rambling, although Mr. Patterson nevertheless did manage to let this pertinent info slip outta the bag:

1) Ogden City Community Foundation will "provide banking services;"
2) Ogden City is funding $5,000 to pay the "event chair";
3) It's anticipated that registration fees ($50.00) will cover all costs of the event; and,
4) It's also anticipated that the event will yield $10-15,000 in net proceeds.

As to the question of whether Ogden City is the event's "major sponsor," Patterson managed to entirely duck that question. Nevertheless, it's fairly evident from various other online sources, here, here and here, that Ogden City (and NOT The Ogden City Community Foundation) IS the major sponsor of today's event, and that the taxpayers of Ogden City therefore have a legally-colorable claim upon this money.

So here are the questions we'll ask of our readers this morning:

Given The Ogden Community Foundation's troubling past fiduciary performance, why has the Administration designated OCF to hold the event fund proceeds? Does Ogden City need a private organization to hold what would appear to taxpayer funds? Is an arrangement of this nature ethically proper? Does this arrangement comply with accepted accounting procedures? Why can't Ogden City hold and administer these funds through its own banking resources? Wouldn't it make more sense for Ogden City to be carrying these funds in its own bank account and on its own books, where the city council can keep a close eye on these monies, rather than squirreling them away down the OCF rodent-hole? Does this arrangement amount to a ruse on the City Administration's part to prevent these funds from being claimed as city revenue? Does the Mayor's Office have the legal authority to shuffle these monies off to a private organization in the absense of City Council approval at all?

So many questions... so few answers. Time to put on your thinking caps.

Perhaps our gentle readers can enlighten us on the true meaning of all this, in our lower comments section.

7 comments:

Puzzled ? said...

Lots of good questions, but few answers. Hell, I'm still waiting for answers from the trips to China and Mexico???

Dan Schroeder said...

105 registered for Tour De Drome, and it appeared that nearly that many showed up for the damp start. Stay tuned for full report.

Danny said...

Puzzled, here is your answer:

The mayor is corrupt and untrustworthy.

The city council knows this.

Yet the city council gives the mayor such control over city money that he can use it however he wants.

1. Sending himself and his cronies on vacations as he chooses.
2. Paying his cronies' legal bills.
3. Paying his cronies' federal fines.
4. Funneling money into slush accounts like the Ogden Community Foundation which is a front for Godfrey's cronies and for Godfrey's campaigns.

In the present case, Ogden city puts up $5000 and takes the risk. If the city gets reimbursed, then any extra money is Godfrey's to do with as he chooses.

How long will Ogden residents tolerate this Chicago-style mayor?

Puzzled said...

Danny......I know. I use to work for him until I spoke out and told the truth.

Comedy Central said...

1. why has the Administration designated OCF to hold the event fund proceeds?

2. Does Ogden City need a private organization to hold what would appear to taxpayer funds?

3. Is an arrangement of this nature ethically proper?

4. Does this arrangement comply with accepted accounting procedures?

5. Why can't Ogden City hold and administer these funds through its own banking resources?

6. Wouldn't it make more sense for Ogden City to be carrying these funds in its own bank account and on its own books, where the city council can keep a close eye on these monies, rather than squirreling them away down the OCF rodent-hole?

7. Does this arrangement amount to a ruse on the City Administration's part to prevent these funds from being claimed as city revenue?

8. Does the Mayor's Office have the legal authority to shuffle these monies off to a private organization in the absense of City Council approval at all?

When asked the above eight questions, the great Wizard Godfrey replied: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

ozboy said...

Dan

Being that you'ze be the brainy perfesser type, perhaps you could help me with the 'rithmatic surrounding this deal. Hell man, I even took off my shoes & socks to try to figure this thing out, and workin with all 23 digits I still couldn't do it.

In your post you said that 105 people registered and showed up. From the article it said registration fee was $50. Assuming that every one paid, including the FOMs which would be news by itself, that means the take was $5,250.

The article also sayeth that the city has paid the "events chair" $5000. (Who is that anyway, a FOM?)
That means even if the event had no other expenses it would net $250.

Are there any other sources of revenue for this event, like maybe international TeeVee rights?

Is my cipheren OK so far?

If so, then how does that all wash with the Godfreyite statements from the press release that indicated:

"It's anticipated that registration fees ($50.00) will cover all costs of the event"

and,

"It's also anticipated that the event will yield $10-15,000 in net proceeds"

Lets see now, at $250 profit per event, the little financial genius we have behind the curtain will be able to pay for the Velerdrome after 60,000 events. Assuming one event a week, that will only take him 1153 years to get er done.

At this rate Godfrey will be able to pay off the proposed Velerdrome just about the same time the Junktion becomes profitable.

Dan Schroeder said...

Oz,

As a Bona-Fide Fizzzicks Perfesser, I congratulate you on your mastery of the high art of 'Rithmetik.

There's a bit of additional miscellaneous income from t-shirt sales and so on (I even bought one this morning!), but then there must be additional expenses as well. If the event coordinator (Cindy Yorgason) is really being paid $5000, then this event is barely breaking even, if that. And it's certainly not repaying the indirect costs to the city, for staff time and so on.

I'd assume that the $10-15 thousand estimate was based on an overly optimistic prediction of the number of participants.

My detailed writeup is in the pipeline, so stay tuned...

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