City council rubber-stamped its decision to adopt a Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) plan Monday, but not before hearing an objection.
“I don’t want to vote for it,” said Coun. Tim Lauer. “I’m having quite a few problems with this.”
He feels the plan includes too many “layers” — a local CSWB table, a steering committee and an advisory board.
He wanted to see Orillia approach its CSWB plan in a way similar to Barrie’s, which is “much simpler.”
“I just can’t see it adding to the value of what we do,” Lauer said, adding there are too many “levels of governance.”
Under the province’s Safer Ontario Act, all municipalities are required to prepare and adopt a CSWB plan by July 1. It doesn’t mean it has to be implemented by that date, Lauer was reminded.
Approving the motion Monday would allow the city to meet the provincially imposed deadline, Coun. Ted Emond noted, adding there will be time to address the concerns raised by Lauer prior to implementing the plan.
The motion passed last week by council committee included a condition that the plan “be referred to the 2022 budget deliberations with funding being contingent on dedicated funding received from the province.”
Lauer stuck with his opposition to adopting the plan Monday.
“I just think of all the hard work that a lot of people are doing on a lot of fronts, and I really worry that we may just be adding roadblocks and obligations they don’t need,” he said.
Lauer was the only member of council to vote against adopting the plan.
