Monday November 28th Regular Town Council meeting

Well, we seemed to have been slowly moving forward during the last few months, but it all regressed tonight right back to the chaos of two years ago. Let me begin.

I arrived for the meeting. I took a copy of the agenda and a copy of tomorrow night’s budget meeting agenda. I started looking over which organisations would be requesting grants from the town at tomorrow night’s budget meeting. It’s a pretty lengthy list.

**Of note, Councillor Pouget and Mayor DiCarlo were both absent tonight.**

Deputy Mayor DiPasquale called the meeting to order.

He then announced that during the time of silent reflection to keep Councillor Pouget and her family in our thoughts as her daughter passed away last night. You could have heard a pin drop in the room, it was very touching and respectful.

The first item of business was Councillor Fryer asking to waive the rules of order. Councillor Fryer then made a motion to defer the budget process to a later date (to be determined). Councillor Lavigne seconded the motion. His reason was the passing of Councillor Pouget’s daughter and that the councillor would be unable to attend the budget deliberations scheduled for the next three days.

This motion passed.

I was shocked! While I sympathise that a member of council is going through a very difficult situation, I do not agree that the budget meetings got deferred. Here’s some history:

In April 2015 (this council’s first budget together), Councillors Fryer, Courtney, Lavigne and Pouget petitioned the clerk to set meeting dates without the Mayor! Only when the public got upset that the Mayor had been excluded for the meetings were they then rescheduled. However, they did not reschedule the meeting scheduled for the very next day since they felt that was too much to ask of those who had prepared for the meeting. (Anyone catching the irony here?)  So, the first meeting happened without the mayor then the next two happened with him in attendance.

Last year in November 2015 (time for this council’s second budget), everything was all scheduled and ready to go. Councillor Courtney then made a motion at the last minute (supported by 3 other council members) to change the dates of the meeting to allow a public input “open microphone” session. Well, they cancelled all the budget meetings (including the one for the very next day that couldn’t be cancelled for the mayor 7 months prior) and then a truly chaotic situation ensued. Pretty hard to reschedule all these meetings when they involve at least 15 people’s schedules. Needless to say, the budget never happened until January 2016.

This year, all was in place. The meetings were booked well in advance. The public input session was held this past Saturday. There were only FIVE people in attendance. (What does that tell me? Nobody really cares about the budget and a 1.99% increase and all is well in Amherstburg.)

Now, all of a sudden, because one councillor is unable to attend, everything got deferred until dates unknown. (I am not being unsympathetic to an individual’s situation here, simply shocked that council made such a poor business decision.) Six members of council, the entire administration and the residents were ready to go for this week. There was a quorum and all was in place. And boom! Nope.

I don’t understand why these meetings could not happen without one councillor present. In the real world, things happen and business would never get tied up indefinitely even in the result of a tragedy. (I recall our Mayor had a serious motorcycle accident and I don’t recall anything being cancelled while he was recuperating.) I do not agree with council’s decision to hold up the town’s business indefinitely like this. And at the end of the day, how much money has this cost us? How much does it cost to cancel meetings at the last minute? (other than our reputation that is.) How much does it cost us to reschedule all of these meetings to have everyone in attendance? How much does it cost us to just leave the budget hanging in limbo for unknown amounts of time?

Windsor Essex Harvest Festival – Lynnette Bain, VP, Tourism Programs and Development, TWEPI (Tourism Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island)

Ms. Bain the VP of tourism programs with TWEPI spoke about this past year’s Harvest Festival. She spoke of their “Feast On” designation and how difficult it was to get such a designation. She pointed out that this reflected local food and drink tourism and spoke of it’s importance. Ms. Bain said we need more experiences and recognition for events and that they are significant job creators and revenue generators. She feels the town of Amherstburg’s administration has the skills and abilities to run this event and asked for council’s support in taking over this event. Councillor Meloche asked what TWEPI’s role was for the festivals. She replied that it varies, but they often offer help with social media and billboards to create a reach that the organisation may not be able to provide on their own. Councillor Meloche agreed that the tourism money is important. Then the debate kicked in. Councillor Fryer did not agree that someone travelling more than 40 kilometres was a tourist. Ms. Bain pointed out that this definition comes directly from Tourism Ontario and these “day trips” often lead to a person spending between $65 to $95 in the community that they are visiting. Councillor Fryer and Councillor Lavigne both referred to a letter that council had received from the Shores of Erie Wine Festival. (The content of the letter was never revealed. Are they coming back for 2017? I hope so…..but…..) Councillor Fryer does not want the town putting on the Harvest Fest. He feels we don’t have enough staff. He said that council would support any organisation that would step forward that would want to host it. (Which then lead me to think that the Wine Fest isn’t coming back for 2017. So, what did their letter say?). With all due respect, I’m not sure our town council has the greatest reputation when it comes to working with organisations for events. I’m not sure who would want to step in. Anyway, it was quite obvious we would not be hosting this event even though we were only at the part of accepting the TWEPI delegation.

Woofa-Roo Shaggy Chic Social – A Whiskey, Wine and Wags Event

This passed. No discussion or questions.

Financial Management System Upgrades

There was some (but very little) discussion about this. Council approved the expenditure to do a partial upgrade to the town’s computer systems.

Windsor Essex Harvest Festival 2017

Now came the time to debate if the town would take over the Harvest Fest as a significant town event. Immediately Councillor Fryer made a motion NOT to approve the town taking over Harvest Fest. He said he would support another organisation if one came forward but doesn’t think the town should be involved. (Once again, I wondered, what was in that Shores of Erie letter? Are they coming back for 2017 or not? I would think a decision needs to be made soon…..) Councillor Meloche was concerned about making a rash decision about this issue. He thought the proposal is worth looking at. Councillor Lavigne said he agreed with some of what Councillor Meloche said but he doesn’t think the town should be in the business of running events. (Doesn’t the Strategic Plan say that people want events?) Several councillors wanted to know why the Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t be putting on this event once again. (I could be wrong but I think the Chamber did it as a one-time event to hold the weekend for the Shore of Erie Wine Festival……but, I am guessing the Wine Fest isn’t ready to commit to coming back….??) Councillor Lavigne didn’t feel that it was council’s mandate to run events. (I believe they were looking for the Tourism Department to run it, not council.) The debate went back and forth but the writing was on the wall.

The motion to NOT approve the Harvest Fest as a town event passed. In favour: Councillors Courtney, Fryer and Lavigne. (3-2, so it passed.)

The rest of the meeting dragged on. There was some discussion about Alma Street and a dip in the road. Councillor Fryer brought up Texas Road and I almost threw my hands in the air and left. But I didn’t.

Sorry, there wasn’t much funny about tonight at all. It was somewhat sad and disappointing, really. To me, it seemed like a regression in time to almost 2 years ago when I started attending meetings.

I now have the rest of the week off. I have to guess the budget meetings won’t happen until January now. (Councillor Fryer even made a comment later during the meeting that it probably wouldn’t happen this year.) So, unfortunately for the town of Amherstburg and it’s resident’s the third time is not the charm when it comes to budget time.

I feel that council made an emotional decision tonight and not a professional, business decision. Our town council was elected to make decisions for the greater good of the majority of the town of Amherstburg residents.Council chose to cancel the 3 budget deliberations scheduled tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday. They would have then adopted the budget at the December 12th meeting. However, now, 3 new budget deliberations will have to be rescheduled before the budget will be adopted. (no small task, as they involve about 15 different people’s schedules.) Effectively, this council just put town business on hold indefinitely, probably for at least 2 months. While I am extremely sympathetic to the individual councillor’s situation, I don’t feel that any business stops and puts things on hold when one person goes through a tragedy. At the end of the day, the town of Amherstburg is a business and council needs to make decisions for the greater good of the entire town. Seeing that FIVE people showed up for the public budget session, I think the greater good was to get the budget done! Can we afford another 2 years of this?

 

In preparation for Monday November 28th Regular town council meeting

Before I start, I just have to tell you that the town has a new, updated and refreshing website! It’s very impressive! It’s much more modern and has a better lay out. That being said, because it’s new and different, it took me a while to find the agenda. LOL. But, after clicking around, I found it and was pleased to see it’s only a mere 223 pages. (For a regular meeting, that’s a pretty short agenda…) Here’s what’s coming up :

Long Service and Retirement Recognition

The town will be recognising the following employees :

• Richard Hill, Equipment Operator – 30 years
• Kevin Jones, Equipment Operator – 25 years
• Norm Beaulieu, Equipment Operator – 20 years
• Dan Ouellette, Equipment Operator – 10 years

The town is also recognising Richard Hill and Debbie Hills for their upcoming retirement.

Congrats to all for all your hard work!

Windsor Essex Harvest Festival – Lynnette Bain, VP, Tourism Programs and Development, TWEPI

Now this one, should be INTERESTING!!!

It appears that administration wants the town to take over the WE Harvest Festival as a significant town event. This past September, the event was organised by the Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce. The event was created to fill the void that was created when the Shores of Erie Wine Festival didn’t happen. It appears the Chamber will not be hosting this event in 2017 and the town is looking to get involved to show support and “play an important role in reaffirming to residents, stakeholders and investors the Town is committed to developing an alternative economy for improving quality of life for current and future residents of the Town through the promotion of Tourism.” (taken from report) There will be a presentation from TWEPI (Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island) about the importance of regional tourism and this event. Also, SWOTC (Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation) have also endorsed this event as being significant and important. It looks like council is being asked to approve this event as a town event to show support for tourism and our local economy.

Here’s a list of towns and the events that they organise annually for the greater good of their residents :

• LaSalle has the LaSalle Craft Beer Festival and The Strawberry Festival
• Tecumseh has the Corn Festival
• Leamington has the Sip and Savour
• Windsor has W.A.V.E.S. and other large sporting events (F.I.N.A., Children’s Games)
• Kingsville the Fantasy of Lights

Honestly, the report about the importance of this event is PHENOMENAL! I don’t feel that I’m doing it justice by trying to sum it up. I will be listening to see who on council is ready and willing to move our town forward and have great things happen in Amherstburg!

Financial Management System Upgrades

There’s a pretty long report here that I’m going to sum up really quickly. The town’s computer systems are old, ancient, antiquated and in need of upgrade. The prices came in but they were too high for the amount budgeted. It looks like administration is looking to do a modified upgrade to the systems that will fall within the budgeted amount. I’m no computer expert by any means, but we will see what they decide.

Dufour Drain and Branches A & B – Tender Results

The tender went out, the prices are in and it’s time to fix some drains.

Woofa-Roo Shaggy Chic Social – A Whiskey, Wine and Wags Event

Well, the Strategic Plan told us that the people of Amherstburg want events and here’s another one. It looks like the Woofa-Roo wants to have an event at the Libro Centre on April 1, 2017 where they can have a social evening that would include alcoholic beverages. The necessary permits would be in place, but since all events require council’s permission, they’re going to have to ask for it. Hopefully council thinks it’s okay for people to socialise with others and their pets and be able to have a few drinks too. After all, who are we to judge? lol

Proposed Smoke-free Outdoor Spaces By-law 2016-113

“On January 1, 2015, the Smoke Free Ontario Act was amended to add areas where smoking would be prohibited.” These changes include areas around playgrounds, recreation facilities, arenas etc. It looks like administration needs permission to rework the bylaw and will bring it back to council in December.

Report on the Implementation Plan for OFMEM Recommendations

Speaking of smoke….the fire chief will be providing a report with a plan about the 27 implementations required by the OFMEM (Office of the Fire Marshall and Emergency Management.) He will then report to council every 6 months about this.

Of note, the entire Strategic Plan is included in the agenda. I have to guess that’s to drive home the point that the residents of Amherstburg want events and they want an exciting and vibrant town.

So, there’s the highlights as I see them. If I have to take a guess, I see some interesting debate and recorded votes happening on Monday night. Can’t wait to see what happens!

Oh and next week will be a very busy one for council (and me)…..Regular meeting Monday night, Budget deliberations Tuesday night (6PM to 10PM—anyone else concerned they have to put an end time?), Wednesday, budget deliberations from 2PM-8PM and Thursday (if required—who are we kidding here? lol) from 9AM to 4:30 PM. Will I be spending my entire week in town hall next week? Heck, no! Not even a new seat cushion could get me through that!

Monday November 14th Regular Town Council meeting

Well, tonight’s meeting flew by. Was it because of my new seat cushion? Maybe it’s got some kind of special powers? Because, literally, the meeting flew by…..50 minutes from start to finish.

***Of special note, Councillor Lavigne was absent from tonight’s meeting.**

I usually comment on each item that was on the agenda, however tonight, quite literally, most items carried without any discussion or questions and the others carried with very few questions or comments. So, I’m going to save myself a bit of time and comment first on the one item I know most of Amherstburg was most concerned about.

Official Plan Amendment for the Addition of Breweries in Agricultural Areas

There were no questions. There was no discussion. And it carried! Woo hoo Amherstburg, we’re getting a craft beer brewery! (I can hear the crowd roar)

2017 Calendar of Council Meetings

No questions, no discussion, no conflicts declared. The calendar is set for 2017 meetings. How will council’s attendance stack up? Will have to wait and see.

Accessibility Renovation to Municipal Buildings/Infrastructure

I hope I understood this properly. Councillor Fryer changed part of the motion. (If I misunderstood, my apologies, I will gladly edit, don’t call the lawyers.) It appears that the Accessibility Committee has requested $50,000 be set aside annually to help businesses become compliant for the new accessibility laws coming into effect in 2017. From what I understood, all public structures (even private businesses) have to comply by 2025. It seems that any local businesses that decide to tackle this expensive undertaking ahead of time, can then, in turn request some reimbursement from the Accessibility Committee, who then in turn, will ask Council. Councillor Pouget seemed unsure about this. She seemed concerned if the town would have enough money to make their own buildings accessible how could they then offer money to small businesses ? However, it seems that is exactly the intention. It’s a bit of seed money to help small businesses with specific projects related to accessibility. Councillor Fryer seemed to feel that this initiative was very important. It carried.

Unfinished business

There were a few items brought forward with various questions. (Nothing too exciting.) However, most items seemed to be about any revenues that may have come in for the town. Councillor Pouget initiated many questions asking about any revenues. (Yep, you can tell it’s budget time lol) From what I understood, administration explained that they had already accounted for these monies in the budget that was presented last Monday.

And then at 6:50PM, council went in-camera to discuss :

ITEM A – ESA Claim against the Town – Section 239(2)(f) – Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.

So, I then packed up my cushion and my notebook and get the heck out of dodge. I was home by 7:00. Sweet! There’s no meeting scheduled for next week, however, there is a regular meeting scheduled for Monday November 28th followed by 3 budget deliberation meetings. I guess that means I should enjoy the small gift of tonight’s short meeting, that moved along so smoothly, because I have to guess that “line by line” budget deliberations will not be nearly as short, nor anywhere near sweet. But who knows? Maybe the new magic seat cushion will help…..

 

In preparation for Monday November 14th Regular town council meeting

Monday’s agenda is a mere 399 pages. Since I will be able to bring my new seat cushion for the first time tomorrow, 399 pages doesn’t make me cringe like it used to. It looks like a lot of little “housekeeping” type issues and I’m guessing the meeting will be short and sweet, I hope. But, hey, now that I have my new seat cushion, I’m ready and able to take on just about anything. LOL I skimmed the agenda and here are the highlights as I see them :

Court Security Prisoner Transportation Program 2017-2018

It looks like the program to transport prisoners and/or minors for court appearances is being extended for 2 more years, and looks like higher levels of government pay for most of it. I can’t see there being any issues with this. There is a somewhat lengthy report (financial too) attached to this issue. No, I didn’t read it all, I skimmed it over and it looks good to me. lol

Bridges over the Shaw Drain North

The tenders are in and one has been chosen to perform the work on this drain.

Annie Ave – Dedication of a Portion as Public Highway

I’m not sure where this is located (there is a map  attached, but it zones in on the area, so I couldn’t get the context), but it looks like a small piece of property was forgotten when they were approving this area for development. I would guess this is a simple and quick approval to tidy it all up.

Dedication of land between Gibb Street and Atlantic Avenue as a Public Highway

Once again, another small area looking for approval. It appears that all is in place to open up the road between Gibb St and Atlantic Ave to develop 4 new properties. Once again, I have to guess that this will sail through. (I know where this area is, used to live near there. Luckily I’m not on council, I may have had to declare a conflict??! Or not. However, one of my best friends still lives there….)

Council Resolution in Support of Roof-top Solar Application under the Provincial Feed in Tariff (FIT) Program

It appears that council needs to support a request to install roof-top solar panels on top of the old factory behind the Ford dealer and Shooter’s for the application to move forward. It’s a somewhat lengthy report, so I will wait to hear what council has to say/ask about this on Monday night.

Official Plan Amendment for the Addition of Breweries in Agricultural Areas

Here’s a happy issue. 🙂  Looks like a craft beer brewery is seeking permission to open up in Amherstburg (on/near Wolfhead Distillery). I read an article about this in The Windsor Star just yesterday. Looks like an awesome new initiative happening in Amherstburg. It appears it will require some zoning changes. I can only hope this will be welcomed with open arms and that the new business owner’s won’t have any more time than necessary used up at the council meeting. Local wineries, local distilleries and now local craft beer!! I may make it through these council meetings after all!!

Amending Property Transfer Restriction Agreement for S/S Shangrila Avenue

Looks like another land zoning issue. Will listen and see what council has to say.

Belle Vue Conservancy Letter Request

Request to have the Mayor write a letter of thanks to the artist who donated a painting to the Bellevue fund raiser. Should be an easy one (if no one declares a conflict…LOL…is it just me or does that never get old?)

2017 Calendar of Council Meetings

It appears that council will be receiving and approving the 2017 schedule of meetings. That being said, they will have the entire year’s worth of meetings available to them with A LOT of notice (regular meetings anyway, special meetings can crop up on shorter notice). So, why is it that we seem to have an attendance issue with some of our councillors? Some councillors have missed several meetings this year. I can understand one meeting (life happens), but missing more than one meeting per year seems excessive, to me anyway. Councillors are paid regardless if they attend the meetings or not. When you can look and see when you have meetings one year in advance, well, I just don’t understand missing any meetings. Several people have mentioned this issue to me. I think it may be time for council to address this since we are heading into budget deliberations. Would it be possible for a councillor not to receive part of their pay when they miss a meeting? That would save us money. Also, councillors were elected and are expected to attend ALL meetings. (Someone close to me who used to attend the previous council’s meetings regularly, told me it was extremely rare for anybody to be absent.) Yet, this seems to have become somewhat of a norm for our current council…..Would it be possible for the residents to request an attendance report from the town at the end of every year? The residents could then consider this issue at election time…..

Accessibility Renovation to Municipal Buildings/Infrastructure

It appears that administration is seeking approval with moving forward to ensuring that Amherstburg’s public spaces are in compliance with the Ontarian’s With Disabilities Act. There is a long list of town buildings need to be improved so they are considered accessible. It appears that $50,000 has been set aside in the budget to start the process.

Here’s a quick list of the larger issues…

• Little White Church – washrooms and entrance doors inaccessible
• Lion’s Pool – doorways need to be widened
• Centennial Park Washrooms – need accessible stalls
• Toddy Jones Washrooms – accessible stalls need to be larger
• Town Hall – both men’s and ladies’ washrooms are totally inaccessible
• Navy Yard Washrooms – doors need to be widened and stalls need to be accessible
• Visitor Centre – doors need to be widened
• Gordon House – stairs need to have rise of 6.5″ and they are 8″
• Police station – outdoor ramp needs to be improved
• Fire Hall – locker room not accessible
• Library – outdoor stairs have rise of 7″, need to be 6.5″
• Scout Hall – no accessible route to get from lot to interior and no accessible washrooms
• Public Works – complete washroom Reno, totally inaccessible

Again, I have to assume this will go through as I believe there is a new law taking effect in January 2017 regarding accessibility to public buildings. The report contains a list of all municipally owned buildings and which parts of said buildings are not currently accessible. (most is cited above). Then, there is another, lengthier list with the smaller fixes listed.

Heritage Committee and Drainage Board Vacancies

Looks like these 2 committees have openings to be filled. If approved, it appears they will run an ad in the paper and those who are interested can apply. If you’re interested in heritage or drains, well, keep an eye out!

Reports

There is a very lengthy and comprehensive report included about our Police Department. There is also a variance report included regarding the Fire Department. They will be seeking additional funds in the 2017 budget.

Accounts payable 

The bills have been paid. The total for legal fees was just over $19,000. This seems high compared to the downward trend that has been happening lately. Can’t help but wonder if this may be in relation to the lawsuit against the town by Mr. Graham Hobbs. He is suing the town for $100,000. He had been banned from town hall just about this time last year for a one year time period. Here’s an article with some details:

Amherstburg fires back in lawsuit by senior who has been banned from town hall

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

Then (AGAIN????!!) council will be going in-camera to discuss the following :

ITEM A – ESA Claim against the Town – Section 239(2)(f) – Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.

I don’t know if  ESA stands for Employee Standards Act or Electrical Safety Authority (or maybe something else altogether?) however, knowing what I’ve seen from this group, I have to guess it stands for Employee Standards Act. I hope I’m wrong.

So, there’s the highlights. Most seem relatively minor and I think that tomorrow night’s meeting should move along pretty quickly, but with my new seat cushion to test out, who cares how long it lasts now? (Well, I still do, but at least I’ll be more comfortable. lol)

Happy surprise for me!

Well, today I got a very pleasant surprise! It was completely unexpected and truly made me laugh and laugh. Here it is :

Yep, it’s what you’re thinking it is…..a seat cushion! Not just a regular seat cushion, but a custom-made seat cushion with a handle! (Beautiful, comfortable AND convenient!) I think the handle is to make it easy to carry. Or is it meant to use it to swat at people? LOL! (Jokes, people jokes….haha…..I’m not threatening anybody just to be clear….) The most beautiful part was the super nice note from the person who made the cushion. Thank you Eleanor for your kind words and your compassion! 🙂  She gets my humour. That’s a good thing.

So, along with my binder that I use to take notes, I will now be bringing my new seat cushion too. (They’ll probably be afraid that I’m wanting to move in.)

The past year and a half has brought me many unique experiences, most verging on odd and/or weird and/or rude…..quick trip down memory lane…..getting kicked out of town hall, being threatened with a lawsuit (allegedly), having a piece of black mould fall from the ceiling and wiz by my head, someone clapping when I left a meeting…..I was starting to get a complex (well, not really).

All in all, since I’ve started blogging about the meetings it has made the meetings more interesting for me. I enjoy the dynamics that I’ve watched evolve. That’s not to say I don’t get bored sometimes. Okay, maybe more than sometimes. (There’s only so much talk about drains and budgets a girl can take.) I truly appreciate the comments on my blog, the feedback I get in person and all of the positive energy my “fans” have sent my way in the past 10 months. Hard to believe it will be one year in January since I started the blog. It’s fun to know people enjoy reading my thoughts (although I’m guessing not EVERY ONE enjoys reading my thoughts 😉  ).

Thanks again, Eleanor! You rock!

Does anyone have a popcorn machine they’d like to install in the town hall lobby? Just wondering….

Monday November 7th Special town council meeting

Well, when I entered the lobby area of town hall tonight, there were 3 different documents I could choose from. There was the one-page agenda, a budget overview package (about 20+ pages) and a huge, massive, thick and heavy pile of papers which is a copy of  the actual 2017 budget. So, I took an agenda and the overview. I’m good with an overview as I have no intention of reading the budget line by line. (Ain’t nobody got time for that. ) I will get to sit through that pleasure in a few weeks when council does it LOL.

I was one of only 5 members of the public in attendance.

** Of special note, councillors Fryer and Lavigne were both absent.**

Once the meeting was called to order, CAO Miceli took the floor and presented part of the budget overview. It is titled “Strategic Focus”. He began by highlighting the town’s 2016 achievements, included among others, the repairing of Texas Road and Meloche Road, winning the Communities in Bloom award, the creation of our new Strategic Plan, and the purchase of both Belle Vue and Duffy’s. He kept complimenting council on the decisions they’ve made this past year. The CAO set forward the budget timelines (I could not help but have flashbacks to last year’s timeline fiasco, after council blew up his plan).

Tonight, the budget was presented to council (well, 5 out of 7 members of council, so that equals 71.4285714286% of council)  and the community (all 5 of us, which equals 0.023195398% of the Amherstburg population) and the irony just hit me that there was the same number of members of the public as there were council members at this meeting….LOL. Tomorrow the Audit and Finance Committee will begin it’s consultation and review process of the budget. Then, there will be a public information session scheduled for November 26th. The budget will be deliberated the week of November 29th and adopted (hopefully) at the December 12th meeting. (Just remember, last year’s budget time line was laid out just as impeccably and poof!! No budget for you, Amherstburg! It waited until January.) The CAO said that it is a good goal to have the budget adopted in December before the year 2017 starts. He mentioned it helps with planning and fiscal management and allows council to be be pro-active, rather than reactive.

So, let’s get to the nitty gritty, shall we.

The CAO stated that the town has issued no new debt since July 2014 and that the town has realised a savings in debt and interest payments because of that. This year, we are being presented with a recommended tax increase of 1.99% to the municipal tax rate. The net effect would be a $45/year increase to the average Amherstburg home (value of $191,000) or 12 cents per day. The CAO said that according to the Strategic plan, the residents are willing to pay to maintain and improve services. (Yup. I’m not going to loose sleep over a 2% increase. I wonder if there’s an allotment for seat cushions somewhere in the budget? That would be a nice service.)

Mr. Rousseau, the Treasurer, then took over. His presentation involved more graphs and numbers and I won’t go into all of them. (Sorry, but they’re kind of boring. No offence meant to any accountants out there but I’m sure you know what I mean.) Here are a few highlights regarding new or expanded positions that are being proposed and the extra salary costs:

• Part-time Committee Coordinator $22,827
• Health and Safety Officer Contract Extension $78,000
• Conversion of Fire Administration to Full time $13,764
• Director of Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Culture $122,015
• Part-time Planner $58,500
• Firefighter(training officer) $46,064

Do I think council will approve all of these positions? I vote Heck no! (I witnessed last year’s opposition to ANY hiring…) Do I think council SHOULD approve all of these positions? Yep, most, if not all of them. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the Audit and Finance Committee thinks. (Last year, council clearly put a lot of weight into what this volunteer consulting committee thought, yet disregarded the CAO and administration over and over again….weird.)

Here’s where it got interesting……the “budget pressures”, i.e. costs are going up, up, up!

• Professional Fees (Integrity Commissioner) +$20,000
• Contractual & Salary and Admin Policy Adjustments +$88,255
• Emergency Operations Requirements +$15,000
• Development Urban Design Guidelines +$25,000
• Community Improvement Plan Requirements +$25,000
• Preventive Maintenance Requirements Libro Refrigeration +$66,000
• Building Maintenance at the Libro +$38,000
• Libro Utilities costs +$120,000
• Enhanced Tree Maintenance Program +$25,000
• Enhanced Municipal Drainage Program +$35,000
• LED Streetlight Replacement Program +$50,000

A few small, observations…..the new tree by-law brought to light the issue that the town currently falls short on their tree maintenance program. So, will council be willing to bite the bullet and pay the increases that their decisions have highlighted…? Hydro rates have sky-rocketed in the province, which has had a huge effect on the arena’s financials.

Administration is recommending that the two levies remain in place. They are already in place and have been for 2 years. They are simply a continuation. There are members of council that seemed to have a problem understanding in the past that these levies are not an increase, they are simply a continuation. I hope they understand this time.

Mr Rousseau then went on to explain the Capital Budget recommendations. The Capital Budget is more for infrastructure like roads and sewers and in my opinion, is a little less interesting than the operating budget. (Not going to lie, I may have zoned in and out a few times during this. Sorry.) The presentation was very detailed, with charts and graphs etc. Basically, the town is proposing to undertake capital projects totalling $8.2 Million. Here’s the breakdown:

• Roads $5.2M
• Drainage $66,700
• Culverts and Bridges $625,000
• Engineering $125,000
• LED Lighting Program $50,000
• Sidewalks and paths $286,000
• Belle Vue $200,000
• Facilities $630,000
• Fleet $420,000
• Fire $150,000
• Parks $160,000
• Police Capital $149,000
• Administration/IT $173,000

I started rounding these numbers, eyes and fingers are getting tired. But still, a good portrait.

Mr Rousseau wrapped up the presentation and then the Mayor opened up for discussion to council. Councillor Pouget questioned when council would be going over the budget “line by line” (insert eye roll here) and mentioned all of council should be present for that. The Mayor replied that council was just receiving the report and could ask general questions tonight. The CAO pointed out that he brought the budget forward to council and the public tonight (yes, all 5 of each group) and that the deliberations and questions would take place the week of November 29th. The Clerk also said that the grant report as well as the Audit and Finance Committee Report would all be available for the deliberations at the end of the month. Councillor Courtney thanked Mr Rousseau and CAO Miceli for preparing a clear outline.

Council accepted the report and now it’s off to the races we go!  The entire meeting lasted about 45 minutes. Now, it’s up to council to read through the budget in detail. It’s up to the public to email or contact council if they have questions and/or attend the public meeting on November 26th. And now it’s up to me, to sit through night after night of budget deliberations, line by line, dollar by dollar, penny by penny, on the world’s most uncomfortable chairs…..here’s hoping they throw a few bucks into the budget for seat cushions and a popcorn machine this year.

 

In preparation for Monday November 7th Special town council meeting

There will be a special town council meeting on Monday night. I found the agenda and it is a simple two page document. For the regular person, this seems short and sweet and easy right? Well, here’s the one item :

2017 Operating and Capital Budget

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that: 1. The 2017 Operating and Capital Budget presentation BE RECEIVED;

2. The 2017 Operating and Capital Budgets BE TABLED for final consideration at the December 12, 2016, Council Meeting.

So, it looks like the CAO and administration will be presenting the 2017 budget to council. In most municipalities, this process is relatively quick and relatively painless. In Amherstburg, well………. Here’s some history for those who have managed to forget and/or repress these events:

Let’s take a trip down memory lane…

The current council was elected in October 2014. They were heading into budget time in March/April of 2015. The 2015 fiscal year was well underway. (In all honesty, I give council and administration a bit of a pass on this delay…..it was a brand new council and brand new CAO heading into a first-time budget exercise together). However, what transpired at that time surpassed everyone’s expectations.

 

The process started around the beginning of March 2015. There were four public information sessions scheduled. Some on council were disappointed there was not an “open mic” format.

Then, all of a sudden, out of left field, around the beginning of April,  four councillors petitioned the clerk to set budget deliberation meetings. And guess what? The dates excluded the newly-elected Mayor. The people of Amherstburg were not pleased.

http://rivertowntimes.com/scheduling-of-budget-sessions-causing-concerns/

And here’s another one where some members of council defend their choice to set dates without the Mayor :

Amherstburg mayor feels left out of budget sessions

Councillor Fryer’s quote of “this is the way we’ve always done it” may live on in infamy.When people voted for transparency and accountability, I think we were also looking for change, not the status quo.

Then, a delegation came forth and asked council to compromise, reschedule and do what needed to be done to have the Mayor there. It was a heated meeting. I was there (it was my pre-blog days, so no play by play lol), but it was squarely a blame game that went on for hours.

Of important note, council did agree to reschedule 2 of the 3 meetings. The one scheduled for the very next day remained on the schedule. Some on council felt it was unfair to cancel a meeting scheduled for the very next day. (A little foreshadowing……these same “some” on council, would quickly cancel a meeting scheduled for the next day in the not-too distant future.) They also felt that a day time meeting was important for shift workers. Guess what? Six people showed up for the day time meeting. Many, many more showed up for the evening sessions……

Finally, after a lengthy (very lengthy) process, the budget for the 2015 fiscal year was passed on May 11th 2015. From start to finish a good, solid 2.5 months…….

Then in the summer of 2015 the CAO told council he would be coming forward with a budget in the fall, as he hoped to have the budget in place for January 1 2016.

Things appeared to be on track. In October, the CAO was directed by council to get a budget ready. It was presented to council a few weeks later. The budget was publicly available as well. In November, the dates were set for budget deliberations (including the Mayor this time lol) and it looked like finally, Amherstburg was going to get it right and have a budget ready and passed for January 1 2016.

Then, suddenly, council made a motion to reschedule the meetings to allow a public “open mic” meeting. They made this motion the night before the meetings were set to begin. Guess what? They cancelled the meeting that was scheduled for the very next day. I guess in April, it was very unfair to cancel a meeting with less than 24 hours notice, but in November it was A-okay. (Irony? I don’t know……but strange duplicity…. the same 4 who felt it was wrong to cancel a meeting in April because it had been advertised etc., quickly cancelled a meeting scheduled for the next day this time.) There was a contentious 4-3 vote about this (in favour Councillors Courtney, Fryer, Lavigne and Pouget) and bada-bing-bada boom, the plan set forth so carefully, fell apart.

Here’s the article of how things went down that fateful night:

Amherstburg delays budget talks to allow for more public input

The public “open mic” format happened and about 20 people were in attendance. All the meeting dates had to be pushed back and needless to say, the budget was not approved in time for January 1st 2016. A small group felt “what’s the rush”, Councillor Fryer even states in one article that council was six months ahead of schedule compared to the year before. Personally, I think administration had done all of their work, prepared the budget, were organised and ready to go. I would have to think it would be in everybody’s best interest to have a budget ready to rock on the 1st of the year. Anyway, the budget was finally passed on January 12th 2016, only after several nights of heated debate, with councillors walking out in anger, mysterious computer hackers and twists and turns all over the place.

Will the 2017 budget be the year that council can finally get it right? They say the third time is a charm, right? Maybe, just maybe, this year we can have the budget passed, as planned, ready to go for January 1st 2017. Here’s to hoping!