City council approved $197,000 towards three ongoing legal disputes during its 2023 budget deliberations.
As per budget documents, the City of Orillia is listed as the defendant in the following three cases:
- A claim against the city arising from the West Orillia Sports Complex, for which external legal counsel is required, which had an estimated cost of $60,000 in 2022;
- A claim regarding an employment matter, for which external legal counsel is required, which had an estimated cost of $50,000 in 2022; and
- The defence of a human rights complaint made against the city, which requires external legal counsel and will carry an estimated cost of $12,000 in 2023.
When asked by OrilliaMatters, city staff said they cannot comment further.
“As part of the 2023 budget process, council authorized funding for the defence and resolution of various litigation matters as set out in the budget document,” said Melissa Gowanlock, the city's manager of communications.
“As a standard practice, the city does not provide comments regarding on-going legal matters.”
According to budget documents, $134,000 of the approved funding will be sourced from city reserve funds.
