How often do taxpayers have to tell their city politicians to get back to the basics?

And in whose world is a $21,920 giant Sorry! board game a basic need?

The interactive Sorry! game is at the Cumberland Museum.

How a Sorry! game, made specifically for the museum even fits into their mandate, heck another good question.

Here's how the museum describes itself and its mandate.

"This charming museum depicts rural life during the 1920s and 1930s in a village setting.

"As part of your visit, stop at the General Store, the one-room schoolhouse and see some of our antique vehicles at the unique village garage. Observe some of the traditional trades that ushered in industrialization and see what effect popular culture had on rural life. Families will have fun riding on the tractor-pulled wagon ride and visiting the farm animals," the website says.

And there's the rub.

The Sorry! game was invented in the 1930s.

So there it is.

Quite the stretch of its mandate, no?

Don't worry, the $21,920 included delivery.

Crazy.

"It does seem like an excessive expenditure for a giant board game," said Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais.

"I do know the museum has been taking an aggressive approach to encourage visitors. It's a jewel in the city, but an unknown jewel," said Blais.

"But certainly, $20,000 seems excessive."

He's not alone.

Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt said he hadn't heard about the game board but had to admit it seemed like a whole lot of money.

And Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, whose community and protective services committee oversees the museums, wasn't convinced either.

"I'm not personally sold on this having been the best choice of attraction," he said.

The museum has a $1.3 million budget, of which $60,000 comes from the province.

Anyway you add it up, taxpayers must be game-loving fanatics.

The expenditure is revealed in the most recent quarterly report.

Once every three months, the city releases a quarterly report-detailing city spending -- approved by staff -- without direct approval from council.

And every three months it's the same thing. long lists of details on spending many of which, at first blush appear to be an absolute waste of our money.

And once every three months, the same question has to be asked.

Who at the city is treating our tax dollars as if it's their own?

Your kingdom for a contract with the city, who needs the lottery?

Apparently the city spent $118,331 for "professional services" to plan for a Bike to Work Month and Sustainable Transportation Week.

Good grief.

Why?

Does anyone really think spending money promoting biking to work will do the job?

And sustainable transportation week? Enough said.

Then there's the $141,265 for architectural services for the proposed expansion a renovation of the OC Transpo driver's lounge at 1500 St. Laurent Blvd.

That amount apparently doesn't even get you the lounge but some services by an architect.

Then of course there's the habit the city has in finding out what the media is saying about the city.

There's at least two items under this category: Professional media monitoring services for the City of Ottawa at $11,656.61, then a whopping $451,503 again for professional services to carry out media and social media monitoring services for the Corporate Communications Department for a three-year period.

How can that be?

Reading the quarterly reports, you'd never know the city was watching the bottom line.

Are they?

Certainly politicians would like us to believe that.

If so, how important is it for the city to produce an Online Magazine sub site, or mini-portal, that will be used to post articles on Ottawa.ca. The cost? How does $35,616 sound?

There's $231,946 for park development of the Fountainhead Park; and the redevelopment of the Jules Morin Park and fieldhouse redevelopment cost us $2,115,834.

Must be lovely.

Unfortunately, it's the same story every three months and there's no end in sight.

susan.sherring@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @suncityhall