Ponzi scheme, we've been here and done that before

HERE WE GO AGAIN!  OR SO IT SEEMS – SHIFTING MONEY & HIDING THE TRUTH!

Are we on the verge of another Ponzi scheme?  It would appear to me to be just that.  If I have correctly understood the latest article in the Reporter, “excess” money in UCO Operating (checking) accounts is to be transferred to a reserve fund.  So again, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

Folks, we were there before when it became necessary to use money from ALL the accounts – operating and reserve – to pay for the roads.  And now, in an attempt to make things look just peachy, the powers that be have decided that all that needs to be done is to transfer operating funds to the reserves.

When I took office in March of 2012 the balances in the checking accounts were dangerously low.  The auditors made note of this fact in their annual report and recommended TWO months as a minimum balance on hand at the end of each quarter.  Bear with me as I attempt to explain this using numbers that may just be more personal.

It’s the first of the month, and your checking account balance is $412.  Your basic monthly expenses, that is shelter and utilities, are $1,000.  You cannot pay all of your bills until your social security check is deposited.  Your check is deposited to your account on the third Wednesday of the month.  How will you pay for food, medicine if necessary and perhaps you would like to be able to spend just a few dollars on a haircut?  Not possible until the third Wednesday.   Is this the way you would like to live?

So, by transferring what is apparently considered excess money to reserves that is ostensibly what is being proposed.  By the end of this month – December – it seems to me that if this proposal is accepted, there will not be enough money in the bank on the first of January to meet January expenses.  Yes, quarterly payments are due that month just as your social security check is due on the third Wednesday. 

And, one last point – money in reserves are to be spent for the specific purpose as indicated by the account name.  And, as a courtesy if nothing else, the Delegates should be given the opportunity to approve the expenditure.

So folks, please think very very carefully before approving this shuffling of funds.  Ponzi scheme or shell game, call it what you will.  Your treasurer last time was Ed Black.  Who is really responsible for this money-shifting scheme?  The cast of characters is practically the same as it was for the road paving fiasco - Israel and Black.   Where is O’Brien in this picture?   Howard O’Brien, a practicing CPA**, should know the importance of maintaining proper ready cash balances.

DOROTHY TETRO

** No he is not licensed to practice and therefore is not a Licensed CPA - Gary