Regardless of the nature of the business, the grass roots ethics required in managing any community donated money demand that extreme care is exercised by all involved, and that any extravagance is simply not an option.
The examples of what many will view as inappropriate or unnecessary expenditure over recent years have been many and varied, and while some may be argued as 'small in nature' or simply a necessity of doing business, it must be remembered that every dollar willingly donated is given in the belief that it will be used prudently for the core operation, rather than for nice-to-have, status or comfort items. And then of course, the negative fiscal and operational 'ripple effect' of these decisions must also be taken into account as they continue to exert influence on the day-to-day viability of the operation.
Some examples of what many would term 'questionable or inappropriate' are:
- The purchase of a 'new' aircraft when a less expensive 'industry proven' model would have been appropriate for the SAR and EMS workload.
- The repeated purchase of high cost equipment, poorly researched and subsequently unable to be utilised.
- The true operating cost of the aircraft.
- The lease and/or purchase of additional 'executive' vehicles.
- The employment of full-time staff for a low-workload operation, and the subsequent disestablishment of the skilled volunteer team they replaced.
- The unnecessary replacement of perfectly serviceable operational equipment.
- Social, travel and accommodation expenses, where more conservative arrangements would have sufficed.
Needless to say, there is no doubt more, but this is not about nit-picking every dollar. It's about the 'Why' this valuable community asset is facing it's own demise under it's current management model, when in fact it has been heavily supported in both time and money for many years by the people of the wider Taranaki communities and sponsorship agencies. It's about what's 'really' going on, and what needs to change before 'D' day arrives and there is
nothing left.
The other question that needs to be asked and answered is, what planned and potential expenditure is in the foreseeable future for TRHT and their twin engine AW109 aircraft?
