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GWL November 2005
An updated version of the Garage Waiting List was recently published. Here are my findings:
- There are 23 skipped numbers. The inherent risk in leaving unassigned numbers is obvious. If a name were serruptitiously added as, say into the unused #73 position in a later list, no one would notice. This is a critical error and needs to be corrected.
- There is no mention of how many spots were assigned between now and the publication of the prior list, and there is no documentation of what became of people who were removed from the list. There is therefore no way to ascertain if people on the list are actually getting the spots that become available. Considering the discoveries I made earlier in this investigation, this is a very reasonable concern.
- There are five people who were not on the May or August lists who appear with good positions on the November list.
- Each record is associated with the date it was added to the list. There are six records that are out of date order. Four of these were left uncorrected from the August 2005 list, two are new.
- I am not on the new list although I requested to be added and I know (and documented) the date on which my request was made. I know of other shareholders in a similar situation.
- There are duplicate list entries associated with the same apartments. Five pairs of duplicates were pointed out in the August 2005 list. Three pairs are new.
- There are two Shareholders whose apartment numbers changed between the publication of the August and November lists. They may have moved or broken-through, but considering the number of errors already mentioned, I think that sloppy typing is equally possible.
- In spite of a recognition of the problem and a pledge to address it, there is still no written notification to shareholders when spots become available.
- In spite of a recognition of the problem and a pledge to address it, there is still no official system of written receipts.
- This isn't a data error, but a procedural one: it is obvious that a database is no longer being used.
I appreciate the efforts the Garage Committee has made towards addressing problems with the Garage Waiting List, and I want to point out that I've given the committee the benefit of every doubt. Unfortunately I am not reassured by what I am finding. My questions of unaccountability yield answers of unaccountability. I ask those in charge of our garage to formally recognize that they are not properly managing this asset. In a recent letter, Board Member Eric Mandelbaum proposes policies which would address problems with our waiting lists. If our Board is unwilling to embrace robust and transparent measures in managing our resources, I ask them to step aside so that it can be done properly.
P.S. To date, we still don't know what became of the unaccounted-for spots that were disclosed in the course of this investigation.