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Greater Victoria Public Library and south Island libraries


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#121 spanky123

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Posted 30 November 2012 - 06:05 AM

For audit and tax purposes you always need to retain receipts. Some companies will let purchases under $5 or $10 go since it isn't worth the time to calculate HST/GST on those amounts.

Companies that I have worked for still make you complete an expense report even if you have a corporate credit card. Someone has to reconcile the purchases and it makes sense that the person making the purchases does it.

A purchase order system doesn't have to make the process more cumbersome. It simply requires that the person making a purchase over a threshold (say $250) get prior approval to do it. Most companies have electronic systems for doing this.

So really the only benefit of using a corporate credit card is that the individual making the purchase doesn't need to carry it until they are reimbursed. That benefit is offset by an increased likelihood of abuse and potential reconciliation issues if a person runs up expenses and then leaves the company.

Frankly I like using my own credit card as we get repaid very quickly and I get points.

#122 Holden West

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Posted 30 November 2012 - 07:41 AM

I'd like to hear more information about meetings held at pubs and restaurants. Were these formal meetings of the full board of directors or merely informal get togethers to chat about direction and policy. I'd like to know who was in attendance at these meetings.

Having a meeting "out on the town" is not unheard of in the non-profit world. Sometimes it's beneficial to meet off-site and frankly, it's nice to have a bit of a reward in the form of something to eat and drink during the meeting. Serving on a board can be a sucky job. It often takes you away from your family for several hours in the evening once a month while you slog through yet more draft budget spreadsheets for the next fiscal year. So once in a whlle, rarely, maybe a couple of times a year they spring for takeout pizza and a few beer, especially if the meeting has to be scheduled around the dinner hour or if it's scheduled to be extra long, like over three hours. But I don't think I'd feel comfortable loading up at one of the area's most expensive pubs on public money on several occasions.
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#123 G-Man

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Posted 30 November 2012 - 09:10 AM

In government you are not allowed to collect points on a personal credit card while on business travel or seeking reimbursement.

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#124 Holden West

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 10:33 PM

I questioned a library board member today about Visa-gate. This person was upset with the Times Colonist reporting, especially how they ignored the library's explanation of the expenses. For example, we now know the hemp lotion was not some perverted moisturizing orgy, but a legitimate promotional giveaway for teen girls. This person said all purchases were subject to strict oversight however, no explanation could be given for the reasoning behind the iTunes purchases.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#125 Mike K.

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 10:25 AM

Explanations don't sell newspapers!

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#126 Redd42

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 11:10 AM

I wonder who got all the Air Miles and what they did with them?

As a newly minted business owner I am looking forward to cashing in on tax-free Air Miles (for now). Surely the library got some sort of kick back, maybe free chap stick?

Matt.


Sorry the delay in replying to this.....but I am also a small business person....I had an accountant tell me that we had to claim any benefits we got from various points on credit cards as income....I'm not gonna say whether I followed that advice!

#127 Mike K.

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 11:47 AM

If you use points accumulated through business purchases there's no need to report anything as no monies are exchanged. If you in turn get "cash back" like the new Air Miles cash offers, that is considered "income" as it offsets prices paid on business purchases.

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#128 Matt R.

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 01:43 AM

Correct. My professional advice was that airmiles (or other "points") collected on business purchases are exempt, but probably won't be for long. Cash-back rewards need to be claimed however.

Oh well, we'll pretend I didn't say anything. Besides, you gotta make a profit to pay any income tax!!

Matt.

#129 Bingo

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 10:14 AM

Greater Victoria Public Library is hosting an OPEN HOUSE at Emily Carr Branch Library, 3500 Blanshard Street, on Saturday, March 9th 10:00 am – 2:00 pm to explore the opportunity to relocate the branch to Uptown.

The relocation of the Emily Carr Branch was identified as the top priority in Making Space for the Future: Greater Victoria Public Library’s 15 year Facilities Plan adopted in 2010. This is an exciting opportunity worth exploring as the proposed new location would put the library and its programs for families and youth in a vibrant complex that is becoming Saanich’s new downtown.

More information and public input at:

http://www.gvpl.ca/a...ion-handout.pdf

http://www.gvpl.ca/u...ly-carr-branch/

Online survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9K89Z2Q

#130 eseedhouse

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 10:31 AM

The relocation of the Emily Carr Branch was identified as the top priority in Making Space for the Future: Greater Victoria Public Library’s 15 year Facilities Plan adopted in 2010.


As a now retired long term employee of the Library I think this would be a very good idea. It would bring the branch back full circle as it was first opened in the Town and Country shopping center which has now morphed into "uptown". The present location across the street is now rather out of the way and slightly inconvenient to get to. At a decent location and with more space it could provide much improved service in the fastest growing area in town.

#131 spanky123

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 11:34 AM

Greater Victoria Public Library is hosting an OPEN HOUSE at Emily Carr Branch Library, 3500 Blanshard Street, on Saturday, March 9th 10:00 am – 2:00 pm to explore the opportunity to relocate the branch to Uptown.

The relocation of the Emily Carr Branch was identified as the top priority in Making Space for the Future: Greater Victoria Public Library’s 15 year Facilities Plan adopted in 2010. This is an exciting opportunity worth exploring as the proposed new location would put the library and its programs for families and youth in a vibrant complex that is becoming Saanich’s new downtown.

More information and public input at:

http://www.gvpl.ca/a...ion-handout.pdf

http://www.gvpl.ca/u...ly-carr-branch/

Online survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9K89Z2Q


To repeat the statement I made in another thread on this subject, relocating the Library was NOT identified as a top priority in Making Space for the Future. I guess if people keep repeating the statement it will becomee true!

#132 aastra

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 01:48 PM

...relocating the Library was NOT identified as a top priority in Making Space for the Future...


How are you making that determination? Here's an excerpt from page 17 of the 2010 report, under the heading "Six Priority Projects":

Priority #1 – Emily Carr Neighbourhood Branch.
This 38‐year old facility is challenged to meet today’s users’ needs due to its inaccessibility, poor configuration, poor lighting, and outdated building systems. Locked between two major arterial roads, the location is poorly suited to its current use, with no prospect for expansion. The branch floorspace, on two levels, is without elevator access. This branch should be moved to a more suitable location, co-­‐located as an “neighbourhood branch” with other compatible uses.


URL:
http://www.gvpl.ca/a...ure.pdf#page=35

The report from 2010 identified relocation of the Emily Carr Branch as "Priority #1", and the new press release above (posted by Bingo) refers to relocation of the Emily Carr Branch as "the top priority". The language is consistent.

#133 eseedhouse

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 03:02 PM

How are you making that determination? Here's an excerpt from page 17 of the 2010 report, under the heading "Six Priority Projects":

URL:
http://www.gvpl.ca/a...ure.pdf#page=35


And this handout available in PDF format from the GVPL web site makes the same statement:

http://www.gvpl.ca/a...ion-handout.pdf

#134 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 03:05 PM

Locked between two major arterial roads


If you leave off the word "locked", isn't adjacent to two major arterial roads a good place for access? It's easier to get to than any location in Uptown.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#135 eseedhouse

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 03:22 PM

If you leave off the word "locked", isn't adjacent to two major arterial roads a good place for access? It's easier to get to than any location in Uptown.


Have you been there lately? There are multiple entrances to Uptown and only one for the present location. Also the branch is nearly invisible. Circulation in this branch has not been keeping up with the rapid rise at other branches and the system as a whole.

To get to it on foot from Uptown you have to cross a major road, and by car you have to drive around a big block or make a left hand turn and then find the entrance, which is not very visible.

A branch Library attracts people, and people shop. Put the branch close to the shops and the shops will, not to put too fine a point on it, sell more. Where it is now is not convenient to the Uptown shopping area.

#136 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 03:28 PM

A branch Library attracts people, and people shop. Put the branch close to the shops and the shops will, not to put too fine a point on it, sell more. Where it is now is not convenient to the Uptown shopping area.


So we as taxpayers should dispense with the mortgage-free current location (with absolutely no current plan for its disposition), and instead pay the highest square-footage rent in all of Victoria for some new leased space at Uptown, all so that other stores in Uptown will benefit?

Isn't something backwards here?

Maybe Uptown should be offering library space for $1/yr for this super-magnet to move in.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#137 G-Man

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 07:41 PM

I am happy with this change. I would also like to see the old site redeveloped. Good location for a 10 storey office building.

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#138 HB

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 09:34 PM

I am happy with this change. I would also like to see the old site redeveloped. Good location for a 10 storey office building.


--- With a sky bridge to connect with Uptown over Blanshard St

#139 HB

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 09:36 PM

As a now retired long term employee of the Library I think this would be a very good idea. It would bring the branch back full circle as it was first opened in the Town and Country shopping center which has now morphed into "uptown". The present location across the street is now rather out of the way and slightly inconvenient to get to. At a decent location and with more space it could provide much improved service in the fastest growing area in town.


When it was at Town And Country was the Library located in that alcove or breezeway in the middle of the strip mall that was to the right of Woolco...I seem to think I remember when I was a kid seeeing it there or even being there

#140 Mike K.

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Posted 10 March 2013 - 06:39 AM

Also the branch is nearly invisible.


One would think fronting directly onto a major thoroughfare provides about all the visibility any commercial operation could hope for, let alone a library.

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