Penetanguishene councillors are moving forward with a 1.5% municipal tax increase, expecting the overall rate to drop to near zero per cent once the education and county portions are taken into account.
And while the budget will now head to the final stage, it didn't clear without a few hiccups.
Coun. Dan LaRose had the most objections and questions.
He began with a look at the funding request by Sistema Huronia Music Academy.
“When I looked around, I couldn't find any information about Sistema Huronia Music Academy,” he said, talking about their request for $1,000. “They've never made a presentation to us, I'm not sure it even fits our criteria at this time, so I would request to have it removed.”
Coun. Debbie Levy was in support of his objection.
“I think it's a very worthwhile program, but for online music classes, those can be found anywhere, I'm not sure $1,000 for music lessons for one child will be worthwhile,” she said.
Coun. Jill St. Amant, who had previously advocated for the program, added comment again.
“The program has been around for four or five years,” she said. “They serve students that are probably not in a financial position to take music lessons in any other regard. Yes, it is online right now, but they've had to adapt because of COVID like everyone else. I personally think it is definitely a worthwhile program.”
Other councillors also raised concerns by asking if the request met the town’s criteria for a community capital grant, if the non-profit does any other fundraising and if the child being sponsored was from Penetang.
Treasurer Carrie Robillard said she tried to clarify whether the $1,000 is for one child before noting "it does not meet council's community capital grant (criteria).”
Coun. Jessica Klug’s comment helped change Levy’s mind.
“I'm fully in support of this program,” said Klug. “We're very good at supporting and funding sports programs, so we can also fund this. This organization typically has two fundraisers a year that they haven't been able to do this year. Their request is very moderate, so I would support it.”
The funding request moved ahead with majority vote.
The second concern LaRose had was around the town extending a part-time bylaw officer contract to full-time.
“I just don't understand or see where this was coming from,” he said. “Nothing in our town has changed population wise for the last 10 years. Barrie, after 17 years, is adding one more person to its bylaw complement. I don't understand what would warrant another full-time person. It just doesn't make sense to me.”
Staff was asked to shed some light.
“Over my time here, bylaw enforcement has continued to receive greater and greater attention,” said CAO Jeff Lees. “The model we currently work under is a reactive, rather than a proactive model. The hope is we can take a proactive approach.
“A number of municipalities are considering the same ask,” he continued. “My understanding, and I stand to be corrected, is that Barrie is asking for four bylaw officers, not one. I think they're staggering those four officers over the next couple years.”
Andrea Betty, director of planning and community development, also added to the discussion.
“I really do believe extending that position is of benefit to the community,” she said.”There's definitely opportunities for bylaw to take a role in proactive enforcement. The staff report talks to the volume of calls and the complexity. And expectations of the public during COVID has been that the municipality will be there to respond.
“We also updated the Property Standards Bylaw and that expands the role of the municipality,” added Betty. “For those reasons, expanding the contract to one year is a good trial for the town to take on.”
With this, the motion by LaRose to reduce the hours from full-time to part-time was defeated.
He then asked if some hours could be reduced from the two part-time arena facility attendant positions.
“If council is looking for my opinion without a staff report,” said Sherry Desjardins, director of recreation and community services, “then I would say those attendants are required. They also provide the opportunity to have a body at the arena when we just physically need someone else to run out. That's a more economical option than having another full-time operator for those shoulder periods. It certainly gives us some flexibility that way.”
Robillard clarified further.
“Due to COVID, we have additional facility attendant hours approved until the end of the 2021 ice season,” she said. “The request, last month, was to keep some of those facility attendant hours for the 2021/2022 ice season, starting in September and that was what turned into the full-time facility operator. Those hours, for September to December will not be included in the budget.”
Coun. George Vadeboncoeur said staff could keep an eye on the situation and report back.
“With COVID, there's a lot of variables in the mix,” he said. “That will shake out as we move into 2021 and the director will look at her staffing and scheduling. At the end of the day, some part-time hours may shake out and I have full confidence in our director. We will learn more as the season progresses.”
LaRose wasn’t the only one looking to save some money.
“The other one I want to speak about is the Great Lakes (and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative) membership,” said Coun. Brian Cummings. “Apparently, we have a 20% discount on it, but I really don't care because if our county is a member of this group, I don't see why we should be a member as well.”
Deputy Mayor Anita Dubeau defended the move.
“Yes, the County of Simcoe is a member, as are Wasaga Beach, Collingwood and Tiny,” she said. “The point I would like to make is we all have shoreline issues and our priorities are different, but the group of us can lobby for dollars. Hopefully, a membership will be helpful in lobbying for dollars.”
Cummings furthered his point.
“I have never seen a report come anywhere from this firm,” he said. “It's in Chicago and most of the meetings take place there. I'm just wondering how our membership is worth anything if we're not going to get a say.”
Dubeau said the town gets a say if it’s a member.
Vadeboncoeur provided some more information.
“Wasaga Beach has been an on and off member,” he said. “It's currently a member. It was something the previous mayor had an interest in. The conferences and the meetings have been (mostly) held in the States, but they've also been held in Ontario and Quebec. There is information that comes back to our communities, but it's a very broad organization representing communities around the lake and their mandate is to safeguard the overall health of the lake.”
LaRose backed Cummings.
“Over a number of years that we have participated and been a member and then not been a member,” LaRose said. “I don't remember getting any information on this. It's likely because we have such a small waterfront portion as compared to other municipalities so I don't believe it's of good value for us to be participating.”
The motion to leave the funding request out of budget was defeated.
