Dear Editor:
Re: Jordan wants papers, Burnaby NOW, June 21.
I was pleasantly surprised to read you were addressing SkyTrain construction's excessive spending. The pleasure came from reading someone representing me would finally be addressing the fact that there has been no accountability for spending of these funds we have all contributed to. The surprise aspect is related to the fact that you have not given up this worthy cause.
I recall listening to people who had been employed on the project complain how jobs near completion of a particular phase were scrapped because of unexplained and seemingly needless overnight "changes to the plans." These were continuously occurring during construction.
With that kind of construction management, it was absolutely no surprise to see cost overruns.
Laughably, the breakdown cost is now lost. How would a family member respond to one of us if we had overspent money budgeted for an important project? How would an employer react if I spent more than he had authorized and "lost" the firm's valuable documentation?
Why is it that financial accountability has crucial repercussions on a personal and business level but not on the public level? Are those who run these projects operating on a volunteer basis or are these people paid and so need to be fully accountable or publicly lose their jobs?
Although financial re-compensation may unfortunately not be feasible, your actions may reduce future misuses. For this, I thank you for your attempts on my behalf.
A. Borojevic, Burnaby
