Budget meeting #2 Wednesday February 22nd 2023

This blog about the second budget meeting held during the day on Wednesday February 22nd is written by guest blogger Lori Wightman.

Thank you so much Lori for writing this blog!!

Budget Deliberations Feb 22

Deliberations were to start at 9am but council moved in camera so they didn’t start until just after 10am. The budget was done differently this year – so, for me, it was a little confusing until I got used to the new format and the fact that they kind of jumped around a bit without referencing page numbers. 

The first thing discussed was grants for various Amherstburg organisations. This is an ask that happens every year for various community type organisations like Amherstburg Food and Fellowship, Amherstburg Freedom museum, Park House etc. 

There was a substantial back and forth about how much should we be giving these organisations and that maybe we should just give them the same as we did last year (Councillor Courtney)  and that we can’t keep going back and giving taxpayer money to people who ask for it (Councillor Allaire). Mayor Prue gave an impassioned talk about how people are suffering and in a time when the need for food is acute he would be reluctant to give only what we gave last year as people will go hungry. Councillor Pouget agreed with Food & Fellowship getting their ask. 

Councillor Courtney then made a motion that every organisation get what they received last year except for Food and Fellowship who would get an extra $5000. I believe they were asking for an additional $10,000 (Here’s where I was confused because council members were talking about Park House Museum being on the list but the list that I was looking at did not have that group)

Councillor McArthur made an amendment to keep Food & Fellowship at the $10,000 amount. Councillor Allaire said something but didn’t have her mic on so I didn’t catch it. 

The vote was on for Councillor McArthur’s amendment and it passed with Mayor Prue breaking the tie and asking that a message be sent to Food & Fellowship that they have to up their fundraising. (Remember this for later, folks.)

The Fire department section of the budget was flying along in the beginning – salaries, training, etc all approved (most of that kind of had to be as it was part of collective bargaining but it was nice to see some things go fast)

Councillor Allaire was concerned that the budget request for uniforms was below what 2022 actuals were – Chief Montone explained that the actuals go up to November and when you include December the amount was actually over budget.

Councillor Pouget wanted to know if this training was for Boblo or just regular training (I’m sorry – this is an odd question. Fire training for the municipality is fire training for the municipality. Boblo is part of the municipality. We don’t ask if such and such training is for Malden or for Amherst Point so why this question which really does nothing but foster that us and them mindset that we really need less of in Amherstburg) Chief Montone said the training is for all and it is required training from the province that Amherstburg actually started early so we can spread it out before the compliance date. 

The next item was Training and Professional Development for the Fire Department. Councillor Courtney wanted to know why the increase. Chief Montone explained that we have more new officers, more have retired so we’ve had lots of promotions and training. One of the aspects of training here is ice water training.

Councillor Allaire wanted to know why we needed ice training as we have the Coast Guard right there. The Coast Guard is not docked there continuously, they serve from here all the way to Sarnia so in the case of an emergency they could be 8 hours away. (I seem to remember this same discussion happening with last council – why can’t we just have the Coast Guard do stuff for us? Because they aren’t ours exclusively))

This was approved as a one time from reserves (If you remember from Sarah’s blog – part of the budget consists of deciding what to put IN to reserves. It seems counterproductive to take from those same reserves)

And this is when the mayor asked for the first time, “So what is our tax rate at now?” the answer was 4.06% (I hope this is not a regular occurrence, we should be adding to reserves not taking from them in order to keep our tax rate low)

The rest of the Fire Budget was approved quickly according to administrations recommendations and then, all of a sudden, there was an extended discussion about the fireboat. (I know what you’re thinking – are they asking for more money for the fireboat? No, they were not. In fact the fireboat was not mentioned at all in the budget so why this tangent  by Councillor Courtney I have no idea.)

Anyhoo, Councillor Courtney wanted to know if the boat was even used and then said a few things that made me hope with every fibre of my being that certain loved ones were not listening to these budget deliberations. “Unless you can prove to me you’re pulling bodies out of the river….” and “Do the police not have a boat to recover bodies – ‘cause there really is no urgency there.” He also implied that the boat (I wasn’t clear on whether he meant the fire boat or the police boat) was used to watch fireworks, goes to Crystal Bay and that if needed boaters (regular people that is) will self-rescue so having the fireboat is a bit of a redundancy. Chief Montone responded that since 2018 there were 6 responses – 2 for body recovery and the rest were rescues.

Councillor Pouget questioned about a time when the boat was dry-docked and mentioned something that sounded like the boat was just stored behind some building somewhere and what is the response rate if the boat has to be put in the water each time. Chief Montone said the boat occupies a berth at the Amherstburg Yacht Club and is only taken out for maintenance. 

Now we’re moving on to the Libro Centre budget. 

A budget enhancement which involved changing 16.5 part time staff to 3 full time and 10 part time. This had no budget impact and Councillor Courtney said that it was a good move because full time employees have more pride in their job than part time (I agree full time employment is always a better motivation, helps retain staff and helps organisations run smoothly and efficiently but remember this for the discussion coming up)

Because this budget center talked about all the different facilities, the conversation veered off for a bit about Bellevue – talk about getting expressions of interest and the vandalism that has occurred there but then stopped because Bellevue will be talked about later in the Facilities portion 

Next up was the Executive Assistant – which is a role that would alleviate a lot of the work across multiple divisions (Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Tourism and Building and Planning). There has been someone in this position for about 18 months under contract and part time. The role would be to support and assist in planning projects, advertising, gaining sponsorships, grants etc. Councillor Allaire was enthusiastic in her position that this position would save the municipality money. (And it would – Lots of money!) 

Councillor Courtney then asked if we couldn’t just make this a one year contract.

(Remember when he said that full time employees have more pride than part time? How secure and prideful do you think employees are when even though you’ve done the job for a year+ you still have to prove yourself again with a temporary job? When you know next year you may be out of a job?)

He also asked if other municipalities have someone in this position (fair question I guess -I might have asked around prior to deliberations but whatevs) Turns out that most do or a project manager.

Mayor Prue suggested we could fund this temporary position through the tax stabilization fund (more pulling from reserves…sigh)

Deputy Mayor Gibb then said something that hit the nail right on the head – “We need to stop asking ‘do we need this position’ and start asking ‘what do we need to effectively run this municipality.’

Councillor Crain spoke of staff burnout and the no end to the asks for staff. 

Councillor Pouget agreed to a one year trial so we could see the savings.

Councillor McArthur said we shouldn’t make them dance for their supper nor should we be pulling from reserves. 

Councillor Courtney said contract work is good for optics and that he was blindsided that this person was already in the position. 

The CAO explained that council had approved it,  it just wasn’t funded in 2022.

Lots more discussion back and forth but my hand was sore so I didn’t record it all. 

There was a motion to approve as is (meaning hire someone for this full time permanent position) It wasn’t a recorded vote but I watched – Yes – McArthur, Gibb and Crain No – Courtney, Pouget and Allaire (wait! Councillor Allaire was so positive about this position and all the money it would save us – I don’t get the flip flop). Tie breaker vote went to Mayor Prue (again!) and he voted no. He then passed the gavel and talked about how council hadn’t approved this position (the CAO just told us they had) and that this gives the person another year and it can come back to council next year with proof. And that he knows people don’t like to take from reserves but that they are regularly replenished (are they though?)

Councillor Courtney makes a motion for a 1 year contract with justification next year to come out of the tax stabilisation reserve. Vote falls along the lines as the previous one with Mayor Prue breaking the tie and the motion passes. 

Councillor Crain makes a point of saying he is not in agreement with pulling from reserves (good for him for taking a stand)

Next up is Facilities Budget

Most of this passed or didn’t according to the Administration’s recommendation. 

Mayor Prue asked again for the updated tax rate – we were at 3.68% now. 

The item regarding vandalism involved having funds that would allow repairs to be made right away instead of having to wait. This would be for all facilities town wide. Mayor Prue asked about the possibility of a security system at Bellevue. He was told that it was not included as that would be found in the Capital budget. 

 (Remember when I told you to remember how Mayor Prue said Food & Fellowship should up their fundraising? Yeah…well…shouldn’t the Bellevue Conservancy be told the same thing? So they can at least secure the building)

Then we come to the Contract Staffing position – Project Management and IT Support. There was some confusion about how this position differed from the previous Executive Assistant position but in reality the description of each budget item explains pretty clearly how they are different – one is for project management, sponsorships, grants etc and one is IT, technical drawing, design, mapping etc. Both of them would allow us to do things in house instead of paying someone else to do them. The savings could be $100,000+

Councillor Courtney asked if we could hold off and if other municipalities have this. We could, it would just cost us and they do. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb said that this position was specifically endorsed by the Audit and Finance committee and will be a fraction of the cost of contracting out all these services.

Councillor Crain moved to add this position as administration recommends. The vote played out the same as it did last time but this time Mayor Prue broke the tie in favour of the position. So the position is approved.

After the vote Councillor Courtney asked how much we paid in consultant fees related to this in 2022. There wasn’t an answer handy and to be honest I don’t remember (or care) about when administration will bring back the answer.

It was lunchtime and I needed to step away. LOL

I had some errands to run so I missed a bit of the the Parks and Rec budget section but made it back just in time for the Tourism Community Programming section. OH boy. 

The request here was to add $85,000 to the base budget for events in the community including TRUE festival, Open Air, Canada Day, Cars Gone Crazy, Uncommon Festival, River LIghts and the Santa Claus Parade. The increase was because of an increase in the cost of materials and such, because a few events were not included in the 2022 budget and a few other things. The justification given in the report stated  “According to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism (Research Unit) the average visitor spend when they visit a community in Essex County is $84 per person for a same day visit and $171 per person for an overnight visit. Tourism and Culture is recognized as one of the top ten pillars of economic success for the Windsor/Essex County region, as reported by the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation. That is a significant ROI for every visitor that attends. An estimated $12 million dollars flowing into our economy from Open Air. 

The discussion went off the rails a bit when councillors were having a hard time grasping how grant funding operates. 

The tourism director explained that the tourism department looks for grants, it’s part of their job and they work very hard at it. HIstorically these events break even or very close to it but that can’t be guaranteed because you are never guaranteed a grant. She added that being able to put into the grant that the municipality is also kicking in money makes the chance of success that much greater. BUT – and this is where it got tricky for some councillors – the grant money applied for doesn’t necessarily come in to pay for this year’s event prior to…sometimes the grant money for 2022 wouldn’t come in until 2023.

Councillor McArthur spoke about how tourism and these events are part of Amherstburg. It’s the thing that allows our residents to spend their time HERE in Amherstburg instead of going to Windsor or Leamington for something to do. It attracts people HERE who spend money all throughout our town – not just in the core but getting gas, stopping at the grocery store. It lets our kids hang out, our seniors walk in the park, people to be out and socialize. 

Councillor Allaire didn’t understand how the grant money ($264,000 in 2022) wasn’t reflected in the budget document. She put forward that she would like to reduce the ask to $30,000 or $40,000 instead. She felt that while she liked Open Air that money would be better spent on a basketball court(s) that everyone would use all the time. (I like Open Air, I don’t go all the time but I can most definitely disagree with Councillor Allaire on this. People are always saying that there is nothing for kids to do – Open Air literally has activity in the streets, they can skateboard, ride their bikes – there is literally basketball hoops to play. I don’t agree for a minute that a basketball court or ten would be more useful than Open Air as far as activities for everyone)

Councillor Courtney wanted to know why isn’t the grant money put towards the difference in the base budget. Tourism director Anne Ussoletti Rota explained that with each grant the tourism department needs to get council approval for the festival – so it’s not necessarily a budget item. 

The discussion kept veering off into a debate about Open Air.

Councillor Pouget wanted to know how you can prove that Open Air brought in $12 million. The answer was that it’s a provincial model, it’s a formula devised by the province to estimate the economic impact. It’s not something that our tourism department just made up. (It seemed a little harsh to say “how can you prove it”)

There were comments about accessibility for Open Air, parking, businesses getting more business, businesses getting less business, empty streets, full streets etc, etc. It was a LOT.

Mayor Prue spoke about how he and his wife are at Open Air regularly and with her being the Chair of the Accessibility committee she would definitely point out any accessibility issues with the event and that no one has lodged a complaint with the committee. He said our tourism department is an award winning group, no other municipality gets that. The CORE wants to give money to this event, Chamber members are in agreement with this event. Some businesses speak about offset revenue but we have the opportunity to do something here. Do we approve a very successful program put on at a reasonable price for all these festivals and events – why not? Businesses say the issue with Open Air is parking – well, then fix the parking. It was a great speech and made a lot of sense.

They were about to vote. I even wrote my yes and no columns in my notes so I could record. I could see the end of the tunnel!! But….

Councillor Courtney had more questions about how grants come in and how much comes in and couldn’t that go into surplus. The Treasurer said with one of the new positions approved we can definitely get out a report that shows all grant monies. 

Then they voted. Not a recorded vote but I watched. Approval for the addition to the tourism budget – Deputy Mayor Gibb, Councillor McArthur, Councillor Crain, Councillor Courtney. No votes – Councillor Allaire and Councillor Pouget. (I think this was one of the only times all day that the Mayor did not have to break a tie vote….)

Then Councillor Courtney made a motion for administration to bring back a business model for all the different options/variations for Open Air – shorter/longer, smaller/bigger footprint, /concentrated on a shorter amount of months etc. 

Then there was a long, long discussion of Open Air. (This is really getting tiresome the ongoing year after year debate about Open Air – I don’t know how people can say it is not successful. It very clearly is. Are the streets jam packed every minute of every weekend – no. But the solution to that is to work at making it better, add to it NOT to water it down with shorter times or irregular days)

Councillor Crain commented on how this seems redundant. Didn’t previous council modify this already? (Yes, they had)

Director of Parks, Facilities etc Heidi Baillargeon then said that the success  of Open Air is in its consistency. People know they can come her on the weekends and Open Air is on.

(As an aside, Ms. Baillargeon has a very impressive resume. She was an instrumental part in the revitalization of Detroit parks, served Windsor Parks department for many years – we’re pretty lucky to have her because she knows her stuff.)

Deputy Mayor Gibb stated that he had no interest in changes to Open Air. He likes 3 days every weekend but that condensing the length monthwise is a possibility

Councillor McArthur opposed the motion. He said Open Air works, it’s family fun. It’s not just about tourists, it’s about our own residents, our kids. He then said something that I hope all of council heard. He said businesses were willing to spend $20,000 of their money to make Open Air better, to give added value for our kids and we acted like they were urinating on the rug. The reception they were given was awful. Businesses are not going to be making capital investments if we keep debating these things again and again. (it was a very colourful statement but very true – Councillors acted like they were cross examining the delegates, demanding to know if they were aware of the Accessibility Act and asking if delegates said certain things on AM800. I’ve been to a lot of council meetings across this county – every municipality at one time or another – and I have never seen another municipality that gives people/businesses who are looking to invest in our town such a hard time.)

Councillor Courtney stated that businesses won’t make capital investments because we give them free real estate (in the form of them using the streetfront during Open Air) He questioned whether we get more taxes if businesses get an increase in profit/sales. I’m assuming he was being facetious. 

CAO Critchley stated that we do not but that if we want businesses to be successful so that they stay in business and keep paying taxes. We want them to be successful because that creates an environment that attracts more businesses and as a result more taxes.

Councillor Pouget stated that 51% of business in the core area were for Open Air and 49% were against. That’s very close. (Yup…?)

Anyway the debate went on and on until finally there was a vote on whether administration should spend their time making a report of every possible configuration of Open Air and the result was yes, they should. Yes votes- Councillor Courtney, Councillor Pouget and Councillor Allaire, No votes – Deputy Mayor Gibb, Councillor McArthur and Councillor Crain. With Mayor Prue breaking the tie again in favour.

That’s all the time I had to watch. My takeaway is that, in my opinion, council needs to remember their job is not to bring back the lowest tax rate, their job is to ensure the financial health of our municipality, to secure the future of our town as a whole. The repeated asks of “What is our tax rate now?” concerns me – they are not going through the budget with eyes on our future. Council needs to remember as well that THEY are not experts, the town employs experts who should be listened to. And on a less important note – I would really like to see a return to decorum. The use of first names only, the language used (“I know you guys get a butt tonne of grants”) and the way delegates are spoken to undermines the seriousness of the job. You are entrusted to make decisions for the residents of this town, you represent us on the greater stage – that is something to be done with diplomacy and professionalism. 

Thanks to Sarah for doing this job regularly – I don’t know how you do it but you do and do it well. 

Budget meeting #1 Tuesday February 21st 2023

Well Tuesday night’s budget meeting lasted from 6:00 until about 10:15. It was set to continue all day Wednesday. I watched from home Tuesday because I knew it would be a long one…..so I sat back with my feet up and watched and listened and wrote and wrote…..it will likely take me a few days to get this blog together…..right now it’s Wednesday evening and I’m just getting started. The meeting was pretty painful….some councilors did not seem to understand the budget…..I have to guess they were offered training? If they weren’t, they really need to look into getting themselves some before next year……it was kind of embarrassing frankly…..

***Councillor Courtney participated via Zoom. He appeared to be at work***

Prior to the delegations, Mayor Prue said that he would have to apply the 5 minute rule for each delegation since there were several. Although it didn’t matter much since motions were made to extend the time for certain delegations. 

DELEGATIONS 

Libro Centre Bike Trail – James Braakman, Dave Doherty, Glyn Buck and Ryan Henderson of Windsor Essex Bike Community (WEBC)

Mr Braakman addressed council on behalf of the Windsor Essex Bike Community (WEBC). He showed a brief video showing the potential for some bike trails for the Libro Centre. He explained that the WEBC is a registered non-profit organization and are looking to create partnerships. He noted that the proposal was for phase 1 of a trail network that would be a multi-purpose trail and would be done in a multi-phased way. He explained that the future of the trails would be based on the Libro Centre Master Plan. (OH MY……Luckily I was at home since I yelled at my computer “They don’t have one! The previous council didn’t adopt it and they put it in a box and it’s sitting on a shelf somewhere!!!!” IF they had had the fortitude to actually adopt the plan that they paid to get…..things could have been moving along nicely with some new amenities and a plan for that big, beautiful piece of property……but they didn’t, so here we are…..no plan for the Libro….) Mr Braakman went on about the benefits of biking and the social opportunities. He explained that the trails would be for everyone citing inclusiveness and diversity. He explained that Phase 1 would be done by insured volunteers. He noted that they would contract out the more difficult portions. He requested the town’s assistance to move some dirt to expedite the process. The WEBC would be raising $35,000 and would like to then proceed with the project. They would fund it themselves and were requesting that the town simply move the dirt. He requested phase 1 approval so that they could begin fundraising and would construct the trails once the funds were raised. 

Councillor McArthur thanked them and said that he loves the idea. He noted seeing the BMX trail at Malden Park and how wonderful it was. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb confirmed that the only cost to the town would be to move the dirt. He wondered if other communities had also done projects such as this. Mr Braakman said that they were everyone and cited some examples. 

Mayor Prue passed the gavel (sigh….) to ask about the vegetation, if it were dead or dormant. Councillor Allaire wondered about the cost to move the dirt. Ms Baillargeon said it would maybe take a day to do it and would only be the cost of the workers. Councillor Pouget wondered about removing a section of the hill and if it could be used for other purposes. Ms Baillargeon said that the Libro Master Plan always proposed the area for trails (even though that plan was not adopted, soooooo……if it’s not adopted, is there actually a plan?? ) Mayor Prue pointed out that the project is in the Capital Budget and the CAO said there would be a report coming to council on February 27th about it. 

There was some more back and forth and Councillor McArthur made a motion to approve the project in principle in order to start the process. 

Councillor Courtney wondered how long the WEBC had existed. He felt that the report was one week away and he had questions regarding stewardship. He liked that there wasn’t a cost involved. He felt he would support this but was unsure about the expedited process. 

Mayor Prue asked if Councillor Courtney was looking for a deferral to February 27th. (Just WOW! Since when does the chair ask if someone wants a deferral? Any member of council can simply make a motion for deferral if they want to and Councillor Courtney had not done so.). Councillor Courtney said he just had questions. Ms Baillargeon answered some of his questions and then the motion carried. The plan was approved and the bike trails will move forward once the group raises $35,000. 

Libro Centre Indoor Turf – Nick Cacciato, Josh Leeman and Ava Townes of the Amherstburg Soccer Association (ASA) 

Councillor Allaire had declared a conflict on this issue therefore did not participate in the discussion nor did she vote. 

Mr Cacciato spoke first and said he was the President of the Amherstburg Soccer Association. He said that the organization’s history is one of partnerships and has existed since the 70s. He felt that the soccer pitch at the Libro Centre was under utilized yet when he contacted the scheduler there was only one hour available. He said that the Amherstburg pitch is one of three in Essex County and that it’s the best one. He was hoping for a modernization of the scheduling system. 

Councillor Pouget felt that this had been studied to death. She noted that the group sent 100 emails and she felt she was against taking out the soccer turf. Mayor Prue mentioned that this item about the indoor soccer turf would be discussed during budget deliberations. Somebody else from the ASA spoke and said that it was important for teams to stay conditioned during the winter. Another person from the ASA spoke about this asset and was looking to collaborate. However, a comment was made to remove the walkers from the track and that there were too many people on the track….(that part did not impress me….my regular blog followers know that I love the walking track and am a regular user…...). 

A motion was made to receive the delegation and it carried. 

Zero Tax Rate – Frank Cerasa 

Mr Cerasa was the next person to address council. He felt that council should sell any non-essential assets such as Belle Vue and Duffy’s in order to achieve a 0% tax increase. He felt that there should be a plan for debt reduction and that a 0% tax increase would inspire investor confidence. 

Councillor Pouget thanked him for his heartfelt delegation. She explained that council would be deliberating the budget over 6 or 7 days line by line and that council takes this all very seriously. 

Again, there was a motion to receive the delegation and it carried. 

Open Air – Richard Peddie, Jodi McLean and Taelor Brouyette of the Core

Jody McLean spoke first. She said that she was the owner of Terra Green (a very nice store on Dalhousie Street if any of my readers aren’t aware of it.) She noted that the past few summers they’ve had a front row seat of watching all of the visitors downtown. She noted that they eat, shop and enjoy a safe pedestrian only environment during Open Air. She felt that downtown is the place to be for her business and that Open Air has allowed the downtown to be vibrant. She noted that 8 new businesses have opened that have created 38 new jobs. Ms McLean explained that her business hosts local artists and enjoys bringing the festival feel to the street. She noted that last year’s footprint was great but that there was a lack of programming. Ms McLean said that they were there on behalf of several businesses that were willing to step up and help out. 

Mr Peddie then spoke and pointed out that the group was not asking for money, that they were there to give money. He explained The Core and listed the businesses that belong to the group. He noted that The Core is open to everyone, it’s free, but these particular members are offering money for programming during Open Air. He wanted to work with the tourism department and had ideas that have been tested, such as movie nights and night markets. He explained that The Core was offering to pay $20,000 for 12 days of enhanced programming and that this would help make 2023 Open Air the best one yet. 

Councillor Pouget then talked about the accessibility Act and that Open Air creates barriers and that it is not accessible. 

Mr Peddie and Ms McLean felt that sales drop as soon as Open Air ends. Ms McLean felt that her business would close if Open Air did not exist. She felt that Open Air was not restricting people and that it was very inclusive. 

Ms Brouyette, the owner of Pink Pisces on Murray Street (another very cute store if you haven’t checked it out yet) spoke next. She noted that she loves putting things out onto the street, since her store can be easily missed since it’s not on the main drag. 

Mr Peddie spoke about offering storytime at the River Book Shop every Sunday, as well as music out front, product sampling, musical acts and taking products out into the street. 

Councillor Craine wondered if they had a spike in sales during Open Air. Ms Brouyette and Ms Mclean both felt that sales were up during Open Air. 

Councillor Allaire said she had two questions. She felt she had received a lot of emails to reduce Open Air to one or two days due to problems with parking. Councillor Allaire wondered if The Core would still give the $20,000 for extra programming if Open Air was only one or two days per weekend. Mr Peddie said that the 20 members would have to discuss it and that he wasn’t sure. 

Councillor Allaire then spoke about the winter and “crappy sales”. (I was kind of in shock at the way she was talking to the delegates, it seemed quite disrespectful.) 

Councillor McArthur noted that last year, Open Air cost about $35,000 after grant money. He felt it cost around $2,000 per weekend and it pays for itself. He asked if the $20,000 would be to offset the cost of $34,000 or it was to add. Mr Peddie explained that it is complimentary money to add activities and programming. 

Councillor McArthur asked about the status of the hotel that Mr Peddie had proposed. Mr Peddie said that he was thinking of 15 rooms now, that a demolition permit was ready and they were requesting a site plan control plan. He noted with increased interest rates and a slow down in the economy, it’s all about occupancy but that they plan to build it and hope to move quickly. 

At this point, Councillor Allaire got almost confrontational with Mr Peddie, in my opinion. She felt that he had said on AM800 that the hotel depended on Open Air. Mr Peddie said that he is planning the hotel but that it is a private business decision to make. Councillor Allaire said she had attended Open Air every weekend with her boys and felt that it was watered down during the 3 days. Again, she seemed to be confrontational as she listed businesses that existed before COVID. She felt it was unkind to say that businesses were dependent on Open Air and she doesn’t think that Open Air would make or break the businesses. Mr Peddie responded respectfully that he appreciated her point of view but that it wasn’t true since the economics show otherwise. He pointed out that retail business is tough and that they opened the Book Store in the middle of the pandemic. He listed off other businesses that have also opened during or after the pandemic, such as The Panetteria, Richmond Street Popcorn, Pink Pisces, Terra Green and others. 

There was a motion made to receive the delegate. (I was hopeful for a moment, since ultimately, that’s what needed to happen…..receive the delegation….the debate is for budget session, not during a delegation!!!) 

But no, Councillor Courtney then spoke. He asked if the end goal was to have 20 vibrant weekends with a festival atmosphere. Ms McLean said that the end game was to have 3 days with 20 reasons for people to come to Amherstburg. Councillor Courtney wondered how many of the businesses in The Core were in the footprint of Open Air. Mr Peddie said he thought 17 of the 18 businesses were. Councillor Courtney felt it was just a select few. Mr Peddie said that the goal was to identify businesses that would be willing to pay money to make the town better. Councillor Courtney also seemed to get somewhat confrontational with the delegation and asked if Amherstburg was not successful before COVID, to which Mr Peddie replied they were trying to make it better. (Exactly! What? We just want to stay stagnant and never change or evolve and try to become better????? Oh wait….I think some on council may say yes to that question…..scary…..)

And then council voted to receive the delegation. (The Open Air debate would happen later during the budget debate). Just a side note…..I feel that these delegates were treated rudely by a couple of members of council. Here they were offering to invest $20,000 into programming, and they were treated like they were on trial…..it’s sad how some councillors treat delegations differently based on if they agree with them or not…..very sad….

2023 Budget – Anne Creery and Dan Gemus, Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce

Mr Gemus addressed council first. He said that the Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce had just celebrated their 50th anniversary last year and had a membership of 105 businesses. He noted that there is a large variety of businesses that are members, such as retail, hospitality, commercial, professional services and not for profit as well. He said that the Board had done a survey of their membership. 

Ms Creery explained the survey. It seems that members were asked what they needed from the town. There was support for festivals, in the winter and not just in the downtown area. She noted that there was support for Open Air, both inside and outside of the footprint. She noted that not one member wanted to see Open Air discussed. Ms Creery also showed the divided perception about the parking issue. She shared that she had just relocated to this area from Toronto and felt that the parking issue depended on how far people were willing to walk. She said that in Toronto, if you were able to park 2 blocks away, that was great but here people expect to park out front of wherever they’re going. She noted that that there was support for an employee parking lot during festivals. 

Mr Gemus noted that the survey results show a large support for Open Air in its current format. He also noted that members wanted to see off-season events as well and noted the huge success of the recent TRUE Festival. Ms Creery said that the bottom line is that there is support from businesses and that the tourism budget is needed to continue these events. 

Councillor Allaire said that she did not know much about the Chamber of Commerce and wondered how many members they had. Mr Gemus said that there were 105 members plus and that most were in Amherstburg. There was some discussion about an employee parking lot and Councillor McArthur noted that there are 312 parking spots within a 3 minute walk and an additional 237 public spots available within a 6 minute walk of downtown. 

Councillor Pouget felt that she had received a list of downtown businesses that were not Chamber members that did not support Open Air. Mr Gemus explained that 30% of their 105 members had responded. Councillor Pouget felt that there are 27 businesses that are not Chamber members that feel that Open Air hurts their business. She claimed that they have reached out and she felt that they’re a small fraction of the people that are opposed to Open Air. She also felt that people with disabilities don’t support Open Air as well as businesses in other areas of Amherstburg. (Side note and tangent time……as someone with parents that are both now in wheelchairs and used walkers in the past, Open Air is far more accessible than when the streets are open to traffic!!!! Open Air allows them to get off of the terrible, uneven sidewalks that have trees growing in the middle of them, benches to maneuvre around, bricks that are uneven…..and simply roll along the nice smooth street!!! It is a BEAUTIFUL thing and so very accessible!!!!) 

Ms Creery noted that businesses outside of the downtown do support Open Air and had also asked that festivals be considered for outside of the downtown core. Councillor Pouget felt she had heard complaints. Councillor McArthur said that everybody he’s talked to loves Open Air the way it is. He noted that he is hearing from different people than Councillor Pouget. 

Mayor Prue noted that council would be dealing with the tourism budget on Wednesday and that his portion of the meeting was just for questions of the Chamber of Commerce. 

Since nobody had any actual questions for the Chamber, just some pontification instead, a motion to receive the delegation was made and carried. 

Amherstburg Water Treatment Plant Expansion – Environmental Assessment

The Amherstburg Water Treatment Plant was built in 1971. It seems that In the summer of 2022, the plant exceeded 80% capacity on at least one occasion. Then, in the fall of 2022, the Town hired a consultant to analyze the future capacity of the Water Treatment Plant. Since the provincial government is pushing for more homes to be built and Amherstburg is growing at a very steady pace, it is projected that our Water Treatment Plant will hit 90% capacity by 2029.

Councillor Courtney felt confused about the study. Ms Giofu, Director of Engineering explained that the portions of LaSalle and Harrow are paying customers. She also explained that the Environmental Assessment was a requirement and that the town had to have it. There were a few other questions but ultimately, council received the report. 

Gravel Roads Conversion

This report details how many kilometers of roads we have that are gravel.  At this time, administration is not recommending the conversion of gravel roads to tar and chip. There was one question and then the report was received. 

Meloche Road / County Road 18 – Intersection Upgrades

A month or so ago, council had requested a report about the intersection of Meloche Road and County Road 18 (near the Libro Centre). It looks like in 2022, the old council had approved a Traffic Master Plan. The results are expected in the fall of 2023. (Hopefully, council can actually adopt this plan and start a process going, unlike how they dropped the ball with the Libro Master Plan…..but I digress…..) It looks like, for the moment, that this intersection could be evaluated at a cost of $15,265 and could be added to the budget if council wishes. 

There was a motion to receive the report and it carried. I believe that adding the $15,000 to the budget for this item would be debated later during budget deliberations. 

2023 Grants to Community Groups and Organizations

Community Grants Issue Paper Correction

The above two reports were put together and were received. Again, the community grants would be debated later during the budget deliberations. 

Capital Budget Financing Policy – Debt

The CAO explained that this report was just about what the town could take on for debt. There was a motion to receive and it carried. 

REPORT OUT FROM IN-CAMERA SESSION – February 14, 2023 

That: 

1. Council WAIVE section 3.2.7 of the By-law 2014-97 in this instance to conduct the In-Camera Report Out, during the Special Council Meeting commencing on February 21, 2023 instead of at the next Regular Council Meeting as required by that provision; and, 
2. Council REPORT OUT the public disclosure of the Special In-Camera Council Meeting of February 14, 2023, Item A – Asset Management Training Session heard under section 239(3.1) a meeting held for the purpose of education or training of members.

It seems that there was a training meeting held on February 14th for council. It was held in-camera since the meeting hadn’t been advertised. So, council decided to make the video public. The above motion was passed. The video should be up by now I’m guessing. 

Audit and Finance Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of February 16, 2023 (revised agenda)

The Audit and Finance Advisory Committee had met on February 16th to go over the 2023 budget. The minutes were there for council to receive. 

Councillor Crain noted that the minutes had just been added to the agenda that day. He felt that the meeting of the Audit and Finance Committee had been long but productive. He noted that the only item that the committee did not support was the Libro Centre water treatment. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb said that the meeting had been a marathon session. He commended Councillor Pouget for attending the whole meeting in the gallery and taking notes during the meeting. 

Councillor Pouget then spoke and said that she did not sleep that night after the meeting. She felt that nobody was presented and that only people’s first names were used. (HELLO!!!!!!!! This has been a HUGE problem with members of council!!! They regularly only use people’s first names during meetings…..and with all of the new staff and staff turnover, nobody knows who is who or what their title is!!! Yet, here the committee was being criticized for something that council does week after week….. But I digress…..) Councillor Pouget noted one member of the committee was absent and that nobody read the mandate. Councillor Pouget felt that a motion had been made to invite the Audit and Finance Committee to the Public Session but that that did not happen. She felt that they were still working under the terms of reference from 4 years ago. She claimed that Mr Moore had asked why the tax revenue was not there for the previous committee and that the actuals were not done. 

Mayor Prue actually interrupted Councillor Pouget since he said that there was a lot of disagreement about the statements that she was making. 

CAO Critchley said that it was made clear what the timeline was for the Audit and Finance committee and that they would operate under the past terms due to time constraints but that the terms of reference could be revised at their next meeting. She noted that there were not any evasive answers that everything was on the screen and it was clear. She also noted that the actuals up to November 30th had been provided. 

There was some back and forth with the Treasurer about the actuals. Deputy Mayor Gibb felt that the committee had had a fulsome discussion and that questions were answered. He felt that council should move on. Mayor Prue looked for a motion to receive the minutes. He got one from Councillor Crain. 

Councillor McArthur felt that the minutes were clear and they showed that each item was discussed. 

The motion to receive the minutes was put to a vote. It carried, even though Councillor Pouget voted in opposition. 

Since the next item up on the agenda was budget deliberations and it was now 8:11 PM, council took a 15 minute recess. So, since I was at home, that was extra nice, I got a few things done and then was ready to watch the rest of the show, I mean meeting. 

2023 Town of Amherstburg Operating Budget Deliberations

If you haven’t had a chance to read through the budget documents, here are the links : 

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10186

And here is the link for the issue papers that accompany the budget : 

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10187

There was some discussion about how to proceed through the budget. Eventually, council decided to proceed by going through each issue paper (link above). I was able to follow along from that document, although officer page numbers were referred to and they did not match up with the budget document I had in front of me on my computer. I did my best to follow alone. But, ultimately, if I was lost, I wasn’t alone. Some members of council were pretty lost too….. I am only going to blog about the highlights, not every single bit of minutia that happened all night long….

Staffing Request-Asset Management Coordinator/Tech

The first matter to debate was the hiring of an Asset Management Coordinator. Councillor Courtney said he would be voting no on this item and wondered if any other municipalities had this position. Ms Osborne, Deputy CAO  said that every community in Essex County had an Asset Management Coordinator. Councillor Courtney felt curious to see their resume and didn’t know if we needed this as a full time position. (Eye roll…..hiring part-time is a great strategy to find quality staff and retain them…..ugh!) Anyway, the CAO mentioned that there would be an Asset Management Plan coming forth that would be a living document and this person’s job would be to work the formulas and move the plan forward. She felt that paying $200,000 for the plan would make it an asset in and of itself and that to let it sit on the shelf would not be a good idea. (**Reminder folks, Councillor Courtney was part of the old council that literally left the Libro Master Plan sitting on a shelf…..it’s been there so long I bet there’s quite a bit of dust buildup on it now…..and we wonder why we need an Asset Management Coordinator? Seriously? Our assets and their maintenance have been underfunded for years…..) The Treasurer pointed out that the Asset Management Plan was to be a 10 year plan. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb pointed out that during the Audit and Finance Committee meeting, it was discussed that Amherstburg currently has 1 Billion dollars in assets and it’s growing! He felt that we needed to manage those assets. He wondered if we should have the position or get a consultant every few years. He felt there would be better data if we had our own staff doing that job. He also felt that if we identified problems earlier that would help us save money in the long run. 

Ms Osborne, Deputy CAO, felt that the position would monitor deterioration of assets or even if assets were lasting longer than anticipated. She felt it was important to have someone internally aware of the entire situation. 

Councillor Allaire felt that whenever “Melissa” (that’s Ms Osborne, the Deputy CAO) explains things that then she understands so much more. (Remember those complaints earlier about the Audit and Finance Committee using first names for people????……well, council does it ALL THE TIME to town staff…. ) Councillor Allaire wondered if there would still be consultants hired. Ms Osborne said it could be possible at some point and that a consultant wouldn’t be required. 

Councillor Pouget wondered if this position would prevent the need to hire consultants. Ms Osborne said that the person holding the position would not have sweeping expertise in all matters and that an Environmental Assessment would be needed. She noted that the person would manage the lifecycle cost management for our assets. 

Finally Councillor Crain made a motion to support the position and it carried. 

Staffing Request-Senior Financial Analyst

Councillor Allaire asked about this position. The Treasurer explained that when Mr Haddad was CAO, he had reorganized the staffing chart and the position was there but there was no funding for it. Councillor Allaire mentioned that her husband is an accountant. (ok?) She wondered about saying no to this position. She felt that the budget would have been easier to read with actuals and noted that she had already misread the budget twice. (oh my…..are councillors not offered training for how to read and understand a municipal budget?) The Treasurer explained that administration was trying to make the budget come forward to council in a timely manner. She explained that in a municipality there are many nuances at year end and that to wait for actuals could mean that council couldn’t approve a budget until June. 

Councillor Pouget wanted to know the number of employees in the prior year compared to now. The Treasurer did a quick count in her head and said it was 12 and still 12. (If somebody can do a quick count in their head of the number of employees…..that should tell you that there aren’t that many…..so maybe we don’t have “too many” as some like to say….?) 

Councillor Courtney talked about the revolving door of staff and expressed his confusion. He then made a motion to strike the position from the budget. Councillor Allaire seconded the motion. 

Councillor McArthur said he would oppose striking the position. He noted that the Audit and Finance Committee recommended and supported this position. He also noted that with a new CAO, it was time for stability and succession planning. Councillor McArthur also noted how municipalities are scraping for staff and poaching staff from each other. He felt that administration had made a good case for a Financial Analyst in the issue paper. 

Councillor Crain agreed. He felt that council’s first instinct shouldn’t be how many employees do we have but rather it should be how do we fill the gaps in staffing. (Now THAT was a refreshing attitude!) 

Deputy Mayor Gibb was very surprised that council wouldn’t want to approve this position. He noted part of this position was to move from writing cheques to going to Electronic Funds Transfers. (ooohhh but that’s scary moving into the present and even towards the future, when some want to keep Amherstburg stuck in the 70s, 60s and even the 50s….) Deputy Mayor Gibb noted that both the KPMG report and the Deloitte report showed a lack of cross training at town hall and noted that the position was needed. 

Councillor Allaire told us that she wasn’t an accountant. (I don’t believe anybody on council is, but some of the staff are….). She asked a question about professional fees and gave a page number, but I couldn’t find it. Councillor Allaire went on that she genuinely did not understand and that she agreed with Councillors Courtney and Pouget and that hopefully this would be a steady year in Amherstburg. (Great. We’re going to make decisions on hopes and dreams….fantastic….). 

So it came time to vote on striking the position. 

In favour : Councillors Allaire, Courtney and Pouget

Opposed : Councillors Crain and McArthur and Deputy Mayor Gibb

Mayor Prue voted in opposition as well, so the motion failed to strike the position. 

Then, Councillor Crain made a motion to support the position. It was seconded by Councillor McArthur. 

In favour : Councillors Crain and McArthur and Deputy Mayor Gibb

Opposed : Councillors Allaire, Courtney and Pouget

Mayor Prue broke the tie and voted in favour of the position noting that he felt that staff had given the right advice about this position. 

And this, my friends, was just the beginning of 2 days of many 3-3 votes with the Mayor breaking the ties…..

Not recommended items

This year’s budget had a new twist in the way it was presented. There were items that had been asked for but senior town administration had included issue papers that did not recommend the items. The CAO noted that those items were not included in the budget. However, they had included all of the requests that came forward so that council could see them all, that they had been vetted and it was recommended not to include them. 

Most items council concurred that they should not be in the budget. 

However, there were two items, one for $500 and one for $800 for employee recognition. Deputy Mayor Gibb wondered why administration had not included the $1,300 for employee recognition. Councillor Allaire wondered if this was an increase. Councillor McArthur noted that a happy worker is a productive worker. He asked if this increase were not to be approved would that mean that a 25 year employee would not receive their service bar like others had before them. 

The CAO explained that they would have to readjust the service gifts and purchase things of lesser value. They could have to give a different award than in previous years. 

Councillor Courtney made a motion to add the $1,300 into the budget for employee recognition. It was seconded by Councillor Allaire. It went to a vote and it carried. Mayor Prue said he wouldn’t have voted for it…..

Federal and Provincial Funding

Councillor McArthur inquired about the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF), which is provincial funding given to the municipalities. He wondered if Amherstburg would be getting only 85% or the full amount. The Treasurer explained that the province has only guaranteed that the municipalities will get 85% of what they usually do, but they could possibly get more. Mayor Prue noted that our local MPP quoted that we had gotten the full amount. The Treasurer said that yes, we got the full amount last. (But only 85% guaranteed for this year.) Mayor Prue noted that our MPP had sent out an advertisement to everyone in Amherstburg about how generous that province was but that it was all based on last year’s funding, not the current year to come. 

Councillor McArthur made a motion to write a letter to the MPP to match OCIF funding plus inflation as well as the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF funding.)

That carried. (Will we get full funding? Who knows….I guess we’ll have to wait and see….)

Grants to Organizations

Every year, local not for profit organizations make requests to the town for grant funding. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb asked what the amount was last year that was given in grants. It was $40,074. He felt that he did not want to go over that amount this year. 

The  Clerk noted that council had already approved some money towards affordable housing at 182 Pickering Street and that an amount of $8,400 was being taken from the grant budget area to fund that. 

Councillor Crain wondered if any organizations had asked for increases. The Clerk said that the Food and Fellowship Mission as well as the Amherstburg Freedom Museum were both seeking increased grant funding. 

There were a few other questions and then Councillor Allaire made a motion to keep the grant funding the same amount of $40,074 and not to increase it. Deputy Mayor Gibb seconded the motion. 

There was some discussion and then Councillor Crain made a motion to defer this item to Wednesday’s budget deliberation. Councillor Pouget seconded it. And it carried. The grant portion of the budget was deferred to Wednesday. 

Transfer to Reserve and Reserve Fund

This is from the issue papers and explains this portion of the budget in regards to transfers to reserves : 

“Capital Investment – AMP – $429,300 

The financial sustainability model in the Town’s Asset Management Plan (AMP) calls for the 1.6% annual tax revenue increase for 15 years to eliminate the funding gap for the tax funded assets: 

2022 Tax Revenue $26,828,974×1.6%=$429,300 

Capital Investment – New Capital – $500,000 

There was a direct budget from taxation to capital in the past. 2020-$788,458, 2021-496,958, 2022-500,000. Administration changed the process for 2023 budget. There is no direct allocation from taxation. The capital required budget amounts are all from the reserve/reserve fund. Therefore, administration moved $500,000 in the overall expense summary to the NONDepartment as transfer to New Capital reserve fund. 

Tax Stabilization Reserve – $165,000

The Town’s “Tax Stabilization Reserve” Policy establishes that a target balance for the Tax Stabilization is to be 15% of the Town’s gross tax revenue. Based on the 2022 Budget, the target balance in the Reserve should be approximately $4.02 Million. The current balance is 1.7million.”

Councillor Pouget felt that council couldn’t pay down the debt since the loans are locked in. She wondered if council were to take $250,000 from reserves to reduce the tax rate by 1.6% if council would be risking the reserves. The Treasurer felt that leaving half in reserves and taking half to lower the rate would be okay but that she preferred it all stay in reserves. 

Councillor Pouget made a motion to only put $250,000 into reserves (rather than the usual $500,000.) to reduce the budget by 1%. Councillor Allaire seconded the motion. 

Councillor McArthur said he felt torn. He wanted to see a 1% tax reduction but also noted that there was no money in the budget for a boat launch or pickle ball courts or basketball courts or other amenities. (And that’s just how things work…..we can’t put less money into the pot and expect more amenities…..how do we pay for more amenities with less money?) 

Councillor Courtney agreed with Councillor McArthur. He felt that this is what people see, the lack of amenities. He felt that cuts could be found in the budget later on rather than reduce funding the reserves. 

Mayor Prue then asked Councillor Courtney if he was moving deferral of this item until the end of the budget. (I find it interesting how the Mayor interprets councillors words into motions….Unless a councillor says “I move to defer”…..I’m not sure it’s up to the chair to interpret their words or suggest motions for deferral or otherwise, but what do I know?) But Councillor Courtney agreed to defer the reserves cut until closer to the end of the budget process. Councillor Crain seconded. It went to a vote and it carried. The only one to oppose the deferral was Deputy Mayor Gibb. 

Then there was a motion to recess until 9AM on Wednesday. The meeting wrapped up at 10:16PM and was set to resume the next morning. 

I did not watch Wednesday’s budget deliberations. I watched over 4 hours on Tuesday night and well, there’s only so much a person can take! LOL !!! However, I have a friend who was able to watch some of Wednesday’s meeting and is working on a guest blog about Wednesday’s meeting…..so once that is ready, I will post it for your reading pleasure!

Sorry it took so long to get this post-meeting blog done. It’s been a very busy week and Tuesday night’s meeting was very long…..and tiresome…..

Next week, council will debate the capital budget. I’ll be back with a post-meeting blog on that one, but again, it may take a few days. And with that, have a great weekend Amherstburg! I am going to rest my fingers from all of this typing and my brain from all of this chaos! LOL 

In preparation for Tuesday February 21st Special council meeting (budget deliberations)

Let me begin by saying Thank you!!!! About three weeks ago the blog hit 100,000 views!!! So very exciting!!! Thank you!!! To think the blog just had its 7th birthday last month too! I just have to say a big, huge thank you to all of you for reading! 

Now back to business …..

Well Tuesday night will mark the start of budget deliberations. There is a full agenda, with several delegations, some reports and then it’s off to the races! The meeting is scheduled to go until 10:00, and then budget deliberations will resume on Wednesday from 9 – 5 and continue on Thursday (if necessary – no comment) from 1PM – 7PM. 

DELEGATIONS 

Libro Centre Bike Trail – James Braakman, Dave Doherty, Glyn Buck and Ryan Henderson of Windsor Essex Bike Community (WEBC)

The first delegation will be representatives from the Windsor Essex bike Community. It looks like they are hoping to develop a multi-purpose trail network behind the Libro property. It seems that the project is multi-phased but the delegation will be about phase 1. In their presentation they say that future phases of the project will be determined based on the Libro Centre Master Plan. (Soooo…..important side note here folks…..the last council was presented a Libro Centre Master Plan – two, maybe three years ago – and they didn’t approve it!!!! That beautiful plan is sitting in a box somewhere as I type……so, as of this very moment, there is NO Libro Centre Master Plan……pretty hard to plan for development of that gorgeous piece of property, when there isn’t an actual plan that was approved….it was shelved…..) The presentation goes on to list the many benefits of a multi-trail network. 

Libro Centre Indoor Turf – Nick Cacciato, Josh Leeman and Ava Townes of the Amherstburg Soccer Association (ASA) 

It looks like the Amherstburg Soccer Association is concerned about the Libro Centre Indoor Turf. From what I can gather from the delegation forms, it looks like they want to work together as they feel that pitch is underutilized. It seems it is only one of three in Essex County. It looks like they want money allocated for marketing and for an online scheduling app. 

Zero Tax Rate – Frank Cerasa 

Mr Cerasa will be delegating that he does not support raising taxes. 

Open Air – Richard Peddie, Jodi McLean and Taelor Brouyette of the Core

It looks like Mr Peddie, Ms McLean and Ms Brouyette will be delegating about Open Air on behalf of the Core. It looks like the Core is a group of businesses. The delegation outlines how Open Air began in 2020 and how it was refined in 2021 and 2022. The event has gained significantly more support from the downtown businesses and eight new businesses have opened, according to the presentation. They feel that more programming is needed in particular for kids and teens. It seems that local businesses are willing to step up to enhance Open Air as well. It looks like they are willing to sponsor individual events as well as investing $20,000 into additional programming aimed at kids and their families. (Anyone who knows me, or even those that don’t, but read my blog…..you KNOW how much I LOVE Open Air!!! I will be listening to this very closely!)

2023 Budget – Anne Creery and Dan Gemus, Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce

It looks like the Chamber of Commerce conducted a membership survey to gain feedback for the 2023 budget & Community Strategic Plan. It seems the majority of members support continuing Open Air Weekends in its current format of Friday/Saturday/Sunday. This support comes from both downtown core and non-core members. Their survey had a pretty even split about parking being an issue. They have four recommendations for council : 

• Council continue to support Amherstburg Tourism in its 2023 budget
• Continue Open Air in current format of Friday/Saturday/Sunday
• Pursue other events outside downtown core and in winter season months 
• Consider establishing an employee parking lot with parking passes – particularly during festivals

Amherstburg Water Treatment Plant Expansion – Environmental Assessment

The Amherstburg Water Treatment Plant was built in 1971. It seems that In the summer of 2022, the plant exceeded 80% capacity on at least one occasion. Then, in the fall of 2022, the Town hired a consultant to analyze the future capacity of the Water Treatment Plant. Since the provincial government is pushing for more homes to be built and Amherstburg is growing at a very steady pace, it is projected that our Water Treatment Plant will hit 90% capacity by 2029. Sooooo…..the town needs to start planning and it looks like they need to start planning now! It looks like there is a recommendation to complete an Environmental Assessment and that administration is requesting $350,000 in the 2023 budget to begin the work on this critical study. 

From the Financial Matters section of the report : 

“The estimated cost to complete the EA is $350,000, and is recommended in the 2023 capital budget. While the EA will provide clarity on how to expand water capacity, previous cost estimates for expansion developed in 2018 totalled $31,000,000+/- including engineering costs. The 2018 cost estimate included the construction of a new reservoir cell to increase water storage capacity. On June 27, 2022 Council authorized a Transfer Payment Agreement to receive an ICIP Green Stream grant for $3,662,833 to assist in funding the construction of a new reservoir cell to allow for the rehabilitation of the existing reservoir cells. The funding for this project is included in the proposed 2023 Capital Budget and includes $3,730,000 in debt. The completion of the project will reduce the outstanding 2018 cost estimate of expansion to $23,600,000. This number may be significantly higher now due to recent impacts of cost inflation, especially in the construction industry. With the current reserve balances in both Water Reserve and Water Development Charges, a significant amount of debt will likely be required if the decision is made to expand the AWTP. Any decisions with respect to taking on additional debt prior to this decision being made must consider the impact it would have on being able to fund and address water capacity needs. “

That’s some pretty sobering information. 

Gravel Roads Conversion

If you may recall, there was a delegation that came before council about a month ago requesting a section of their road be redone in tar and chip. It is currently a gravel road. It seems that this area of road,  North Road Side Road between Concession 5 North and Concession 6 North, would cost approximately $198,000 over two years to convert from gravel to tar and chip. In the report, Windsor Police has also provided data in regards to car accidents in the area as well. The report details how many kilometers of roads we have that are gravel.  At this time, administration is not recommending the conversion of gravel roads to tar and chip. 

Meloche Road / County Road 18 – Intersection Upgrades

A month ago or so, council had requested a report about the intersection of Meloche Road and County Road 18 (near the Libro Centre). It looks like in 2022, the old council had approved a Traffic Master Plan. The results are expected in the fall of 2023. (Hopefully, council can actually adopt this plan and start a process going, unlike how they dropped the ball with the Libro Master Plan…..but I digress…..) It looks like, for the moment, that this intersection could be evaluated at a cost of $15,265 and could be added to the budget if council wishes. 

2023 Grants to Community Groups and Organizations

This is a report explaining the criteria that various groups must meet in order to request grants from Amherstburg Town Council during their annual budget deliberations. The recommendation is : 

The requested funding for Grants to Community Groups and Organizations BE CONSIDERED during the 2023 Budget deliberations in accordance with the Grants to Community Groups and Organizations Policy. 

Community Grants Issue Paper Correction

Each year, during budget deliberations, the organizations seeking grants from town council generally present their reasons and the amount that they are requesting. This year, there is a lot more money being requested than what is available. Council will have to decide what to do. There is $62,703 being requested and there is $40,074 available. 

Capital Budget Financing Policy – Debt

This is a report about financing debt. Here’s the recommendation : 

It is recommended that: 

1. That Council APPROVE a revision to the Debt Strategy outlined in the Capital Budget Financing Policy by increasing the allowable debt servicing cost limits to be 25% of water and wastewater prior year net revenues; and, 

2. That Council DIRECT Administration to make further housekeeping amendments to the Capital Budget Financing Policy and Loans and Borrowing Policy

2023 Town of Amherstburg Operating Budget Deliberations

And then, council will begin deliberating the budget…..I have sat through this show so many times…..I can predict it already…..let the show-boating begin! 

If you haven’t had a chance to read through the budget documents, here are the links : 

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10164

And here is the link for the issue papers that accompany the budget : 

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10165

Council will begin the debate on Tuesday evening. They’ll continue all day Wednesday and possible on Thursday…..will I be watching all of it? NO! LOL! I’ll watch some of it and blog about what I can….and I’ll catch the rest in the media. 🙂 

There is also this report-out included in the agenda: 

REPORT OUT FROM IN-CAMERA SESSION – February 14, 2023 

That: 

1. Council WAIVE section 3.2.7 of the By-law 2014-97 in this instance to conduct the In-Camera Report Out, during the Special Council Meeting commencing on February 21, 2023 instead of at the next Regular Council Meeting as required by that provision; and, 
2. Council REPORT OUT the public disclosure of the Special In-Camera Council Meeting of February 14, 2023, Item A – Asset Management Training Session heard under section 239(3.1) a meeting held for the purpose of education or training of members.

Monday February 13th Regular town council meeting

What an absolutely ridiculous fiasco of a meeting tonight! I’m going to start typing this up now (Monday night) but am guessing I will have to finish it tomorrow night. I left the meeting at about 8:50. It was still going on and on and on…..maybe it still is, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I care either. It was ridiculous! A good portion of the Boblo presentation turned into catastrophizing and added nothing of value. Just wasted an hour and a half of everybody’s lives. (Yes, the Boblo portion of the meeting lasted an hour and a half….). Why am I surprised that the meeting dragged on? I shouldn’t be I guess? Some of the worst offenders for this were re-elected I guess. The gavel was passed regularly too. I think I counted 4 times, could have been 5….who knows? It’s either going back and forth on the Boblo Ferry or it’s doing laps at the walking track. 

Anyway, here’s the rundown. I am really, really going to try to be brief. At many points I didn’t even bother taking notes. How could I? When the 88th “what if” got asked about Boblo……

Council met at 5:00 for a planning meeting. The regular meeting started promptly at 6:00. (That was the only thing that was prompt all night, just sayin’. ) 

During the section about pecuniary interest, Mayor Prue spoke at length. It seems that prior to 2018 he attended a LPAT hearing about the development at the south end of Boblo Island. It seems that the adjudicator asked that he speak on behalf of all of the residents. He felt that he was there to protect some endangered species. Many items were discussed, including the ferry. It seems that the LPAT hearing is ongoing. Mayor Prue said he had talked to the Integrity Commissioner and that he was advised he doesn’t have a pecuniary interest or an apprehension of bias unless it’s related to the LPAT hearing. 

PRESENTATIONS

Bois Blanc Island Ferry Operational Response

Cindy Prince was there on behalf of Bois Blanc Island. She works for Mr Amicone. She explained the corporate structure of the company. She explained the 5 ongoing projects in Amherstburg and that Amico is very heavily invested in Amherstburg. She read a section of the development agreement with the clause about access to and from the Island. It’s crystal clear that transportation to and from the island is the responsibility of the developer and not the town. Ms Prince also noted that the ferry operations are very heavily regulated. She noted that there is an emergency response plan in place in regards to fire, police and ambulance. She said that they worked with the Fire Chief to create it and that the plan is always evolving. Ms Prince also explained that in the agreement of purchase and sale it is clearly indicated that the municipality is not responsible for the ferry service. She also explained the restrictive covenants and the sizable investments being made by Amico. It was clear (at least to me) that she was explaining the tiers of legal agreements that ultimately explain the ferry responsibilities. On one of the slides, Ms Prince pointed out that in the contracts it is spelled out that the purchaser agrees that there will be development on the south end of the island. She said that it has always been clear that there would be development at the south end of the island. 

Ms Prince explained that Mr Amicone did not buy Boblo Island. The previous developer was unable to meet his financial obligations. Since Amicone was owed the most money, many millions, he made a plan to develop the island. In exchange he agreed to take on all of the debt and responsibility as long as he could develop the south end of the island. Mr Amicone paid the money owed to the Town of Amherstburg as well as all of the other debts. To date, Ms Prince said that Mr Amicone has not made a profit yet from the island. She noted that everybody except Amico got their money back and that everybody was aware of further development of the island. 

Ms Prince also explained the ferry terms. From the presentation : “ While Amherstburg Ferry Corporation will use its best efforts to carry all Ferry Users to and from the Island, AFC does not guarantee ferry service to and from the Island. Ferry service may be disrupted due to, but not limited to, weather conditions, mechanical breakdowns, work stoppages, river conditions, etc.” She explained that some days buses don’t run, some days the 401 is closed due to weather and some days the ferry can’t run either due to weather. 

There was some discussion about dates and times that emails went out before Christmas when the water levels fell too low and the ferry was only available for emergency vehicles. Ms Prince showed a graph of the lake levels and how they had dipped on December 23rd. She said that the water levels in the Detroit River were even worse. She noted that the 401 was closed at that time, VIA Rail had stopped running and planes at the airport were grounded and sat on the tarmac.  Ms Prince noted that it can be upsetting for residents to have limited access but it can be even more upsetting sitting on an ice flow on the barge and hoping that it works out. She went on to explain the various work that Amico has completed this year and noted that a new ferry landing is under construction. She also showed a picture of the new temporary structure for the fire truck on the island. 

It was now past 6:45. 

Councillor McArthur said that he had one question. He asked about the hotel. It had been reported in the news that there was an agreement with Hampton Inn and Suites and that they were supposed to break ground in the spring of 2022. He wondered what happened. Ms Prince said that with the inflation for construction costs and finding trades people that the project is not financially viable at the moment. The agreement is still in place with Hampton Inns and that they are watching the industry. She was hopeful the construction industry will continue to improve over the next 6 months. (Sigh….side note….if the previous council hadn’t quibbled about parking, the hotel would have been started before dooms day of March 2020…..I remember them coming before council and the project got pushed back due to parking…..and then COVID hit….and the world shut down…..and nobody could travel, so the hotel industry was hardly a great investment……and, well, after seeing how poorly council treated Boblo tonight, well…..I’m not so sure why they’d be quick to do anything when certain members of council seem to just want to make things difficult for them??) 

Then the Q&A started……Councillor Pouget had some papers in her hand that were an emergency plan signed by the Fire Chief and former town administrators. She wondered why council hadn’t approved it. Chief Montone (who quite frankly deserves an award for the most patient human being on earth tonight) said that it is Annex X of the Emergency Plan. Seems all annexes are listed and approved by council. He noted that there are 26 annexes in total including nuclear response, evacuation etc and that one of the Annexes even contain private contact information for all senior officers. He noted that the documents aren’t public but that council does approve them and that copies are kept in Senior administration officers and his office. 

The questions were just beginning. I will not be typing it all out for you tonight…..my fingers are tired and my head hurts. If you’re so inclined, you can go listen to the meeting. The Boblo portion lasted until about 7:40, so about an hour and 40 minutes. Then your head can hurt too. 

Councillor Crain thanked Amico for their investments and providing the information. He felt confident that Amico and the Fire Chief would be able to keep people safe. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb wondered if it was communicated to purchasers buying a resale property that the town is not responsible for the ferry service. He wondered if this stayed on the title of the property. Ms Prince said that it does stay on the title and is in the documentation whenever a property is sold or changes ownership. Deputy Mayor Gibb also wondered what the long term plan was for the ferry. She said that the Homeowner’s Association will take over the Ferry services later for the long term, since they could run it for a break even point over the long term. 

And then Councillor Courtney spoke and spoke and spoke……As in the Energizer Bunny…..drum beating and all…..At one point I checked my phone. It was 7:25…..I stopped taking notes….was texting with some friends that were watching from home. He got into a back and forth with Fire Chief Montone. Let’s just say if it was a win/lose…..Chief Montone won. Hands down. There were all kinds of “what if” scenarios thrown out there by Councillor Courtney. It was catastrophizing at an all new level! Even a hypothetical murder on Boblo during a massive snow storm was thrown out there for some drama! (I think the only catastrophe he forgot would be if aliens landed on Boblo and took people away in a UFO and it was a winter storm and the Police couldn’t get there in time and a swamp monster came up from the river…..what would happen? I’m clearly being facetious here but anybody that listened and heard some of the scenarios….just wow…..) One thing I did write down…..Councillor Courtney feels that water levels can be solved……I’m all ears…..please tell us Councillor Courtney how you will solve water levels in the Detroit River…..

Councillor Allaire wondered how old the ferry was. Ms Prince explained that there are two ferries and that they’re very old. She noted that they’ve had engines replaced, have strict maintenance schedules and strict inspection scheduled. 

Mayor Prue interjected and said that the ferries are over 80 years old. He wondered when they would be replaced and that it’s not just engines but also ballasts that should be replaced. He seemed to take issue with the ferries being old. (But hey….if it’s that big of a deal, just move over onto the mainland….ultimately, if one chooses to live on Boblo Island…..with all choice comes consequence…..don’t like the old ferries? Don’t like the development on the south end? There are lots of other beautiful places to live in Amherstburg….) 

It went back to Councillor Pouget with some more questions. Then Deputy Mayor Gibb wondered since the town wasn’t responsible for the ferry service, if by entering into discussions every time there is an interruption of service, if they could be undermining the town’s position. CAO Critchley said that council had the right to ask questions but she cautioned them not to assume responsibility for the ferry. 

And finally at 7:40 PM, one hour and 40 minutes after the start of the meeting, the motion was made to receive the presentation. And it carried. 

For anyone interested, here is the link to Boblo’s presentation https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10136

By now, I was already exhausted and wanted to scream. So, this is where I am now taking my own break. I will write the rest of this blog tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day! 

Part 2 (I am continuing the blog for the rest of the meeting on Tuesday evening now….)

Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant Opportunities

So basically, administration wanted to apply for some grant funding to get some work done at the Gordon House. Here is the recommendation : 

It is recommended that: 

1. The Chief Administrative Officer or designate BE AUTHORIZED to submit a project application for the Gordon House Improvements to the Rural Economic Development (RED) Strategic Economic Infrastructure Stream (SEIS) with the following recommendations required for the submission;

a. Council APPROVES the following funding for the project: 

i. $40,000 recommended in 2023 in the capital budget for the Gordon House Improvements project (FAC-005-23); 

ii. $58,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

b. Council DIRECTS Administration to replenish the $58,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve in 2024 by a transfer from the Capital New reserve and; 

c. If the grant for the Gordon House is not awarded funding: 

i. Council DIRECTS that the $40,000 in 2023 proceed to complete the painting and siding and: ii. Council RESCINDS the allocation of $58,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

2. Chief Administrative Officer or designate BE AUTHORIZED to submit a project application for the development of a Business Retention and Expansion program to the Rural Economic Development (RED) Economic Diversification and Competitiveness Stream (EDCS), subject to the results of the 2023 budget deliberations approving the Economic Development and Communications position required to execute the project, and with following funding required for the submission; 

a. Council APPROVES the following funding for the project:

i. Up to a maximum of $92,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

b. Council DELEGATES authority to the Chief Administrative Officer or designate to obtain letters of support and or enter into agreements for in kind or financial contributions from other organizations for this project submission and; 

c. If the grant for the Business Retention and Expansion project is not awarded funding Council RESCINDS the allocation of $92,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

3. That the Chief Administrative Officer and/or the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer BE AUTHORIZED to sign and execute any agreements, declarations or approvals required to submit the grant applications noted in the report of February 2, 2023.

Since the grant application is due February 23rd and the budget deliberations don’t begin until February 21st, administration needed council’s approval for this last night in order to meet the deadlines. 

Councillor Allaire spoke first. She felt worried about spending this money. She felt that $140,000 was more than she was willing to spend on the Gordon House. She noted that the painting and repairs were scheduled for 2023, with drawings for new windows in 2024 and then installation of the new windows in 2025. She felt that the painting and repairs were a lot of money to spend and found it worrisome to approve all of this. (I couldn’t help but wonder…..would she feel the same way about spending money on parks??? Seems that parks are a huge priority…..but there are A LOT of priorities in a community, including historic buildings that the town owns…..just sayin’ …..) 

Councillor Pouget agreed with Councillor Allaire. She felt that the money hadn’t been budgeted yet and that council hasn’t heard from the constituents yet about the budget. 

CAO Critchley agreed that the timing was not ideal but that the grant money is available now. She didn’t want to leave money on the table. She noted that the budget deliberations begin February 21st but the grant application has to be submitted by February 23rd, so it was brought to council this week in order to meet the deadline. 

There was some back and forth that in order to get the grant money it will take a dedicated project manager. Councillor Crain asked what the risk would be in the event that council did not invest in one of its oldest buildings. (I was so happy to hear that comment…..it IS an investment…..we have to continue to invest in our infrastructure and assets…..if council chooses not to invest in this old building and maintain it properly, I really don’t want to see it become the new Belle Vue, sitting in disrepair and neglect. This IS an investment.) Ms Baillargeon, Director of Parks, mentioned that the money had been redirected last year for the project and that the building does need attention. 

Councillor Courtney spoke in circles for a few minutes that “optically” , he’s on the fence. 

Finally, Councillor McArthur made the motion for the recommendation. He felt that there was no risk, that it was simply a funding request that was being put forward to meet the deadline. He noted that the “optics” are that it is one of the oldest buildings in the town and it needs paint and repairs. He noted that to reject the request does not make sense. He also noted that council was not bound by the request since they could decide to put it aside during the budget if they wanted to. 

Mayor Prue passed the gavel…..(sigh….) and said that he will support this initiative. He took the gavel back after speaking…..I have to wonder why he just doesn’t vote, instead of passing the gavel to speak…..a vote is worth a 1,000 words….

Anyway, it went to a vote…..it carried. Councillors Allaire and Pouget voted in opposition. (Interesting and concerning…..they don’t want to invest in one of our oldest historical buildings? Kind of sad really…..)

Street Name Request for Canard Valley Estates Phase II Subdivision

It looks like two streets in the Canard Valley Subdivision need names. The developer is proposing Gertrude Drive and Garnet Crescent after his grandparents. 

(I have written about this before, but I personally, do not think streets, or parks, or buildings or anything else should be named after people. Things can come out later that can call these decisions into question. How many statues have been removed? Buildings renamed? Even our own town has an ongoing debate of whether it should be renamed or not. We had a scandal not that long ago with naming rights at the Libro that had to be removed. When will we learn? 

At the very least, these are two first names of people, so that gives some leeway. But when I look at the inventory, it’s almost all people’s last names. And unfortunately, they are mostly all white men. 

Other than the names of Amherstburg veterans from the cenotaph, I think it’s time to take a serious look at the street-naming policy and move into the 21st Century and away from naming things after people.)

Councillor Crain made the motion to approve the street names. Deputy Mayor Gibb seconded the motion. 

And Mayor Prue passed the gavel….Immediately…..(Could that be seen as trying to lead or sway council? Having to express his opinion immediately before debate has even begun?) Mayor Prue felt that the town had a policy to follow. He noted that there are names of war veterans (just one left – Fox) as well as past mayors and people that have made significant contributions to Amherstburg that are on the list. He felt that council should not bypass the list. (Ironically, I think Council should abolish the list, save Mr Fox). He also felt that the street names should go before the Heritage Committee. Ironically, that is EXACTLY what happened a little while later….when Mayor Prue “caught” something Councillor McArthur said and made it so…..hmmmm……sneaky??? I dunno….)

Anyway, after sharing his thoughts, Mayor Prue took the gavel back and Councillor Courtney spoke. He noted that this is phase 2 of the development and there are names such as Annie Street. Councillor Pouget said that she agreed with Mayor Prue. She felt that previous councils had been clear and wanted to honour war heroes (All save Mr Fox have been honoured already). She felt that council should take a stand about naming rights and send this to the Heritage Committee. (And again, there is the problem…..there shouldn’t be naming RIGHTS…..this has created division in the past…..we really and truly need to get far far away from naming things after people….) 

Councillor Crain felt that history is great and that Garnet and Gertrude can be recognized since they were local business owners. Deputy Mayor Gibb said that he would support it as well. He noted that they had already been sitting there for two hours and that he wouldn’t get into it now about not naming roads after people. He noted that all of the names on the list are Amherstburg names and that McGregor names also represent the history of the area. He felt that they should be recognized too. 

Councillor McArthur felt that both sides have good points. He felt that the names should be vetted through the Heritage Committee. He encouraged the developers to get the names added to the list. He suggested that people could read the story behind each street name on the town’s web site. (I don’t believe this exists, and who is ever going to do all of that work?) He felt that the town should follow the process. 

Mayor Prue quickly interjected that he recognized what Councillor McArthur said as a referral motion that had to go to the Heritage Committee. He said that it couldn’t be debated. So it went to a vote, to send this off to the Heritage Committee. It carried. Councillor Crain and Deputy Mayor Gibb voted in opposition. Ironically, they are the two council representatives on the Heritage Committee. The irony of that is not lost on me. 

Cash In-Lieu of Parkland By-law

Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, has caused some changes for municipalities. From the financial impact section : “An impact of the Bill 23 changes to the Planning Act is that municipalities anticipate lower amounts of new parkland or cash in-lieu of parkland for new residential developments. Administration will be tracking all cash in-lieu over the 2023 period, capturing what the amount would have been by using the Town’s policy vs what is required based on the calculation set forth in Bill 23.” 

There was some discussion on the item….the gavel was passed. Again…..I think it was passed back…..quite a confusing practice frankly…..And I know many agree with me LOL! 

Anyway, the recommendation carried. 

More items came forward….most with little discussion….the gavel was passed again, at least one more time, maybe two….not much of interest…..you’re always welcome to watch the three hour meeting back if you want all of the nitty gritty. 🙂

New Business

Councillor Crain made a motion to reinstate the walking track hours. Councillor Pouget seconded it. 

(Small back story….on social media, it was posted that the walking track hours had been greatly reduced because the track couldn’t be open while the turf was being rented. The track was scheduled to close at 7PM on Mondays, 6PM Tuesdays, 10PM Wednesday, 7PM Thursday, 5PM Friday and at noon on Saturday and Sunday. When this was posted on social media, the public was not happy. Not one bit. And I was one of them.) 

Councillor Crain said that people were upset with the reduced hours. He appreciated administration’s efforts to reduce injuries but he pointed out that the taxpayers have paid for the track. Even though they don’t rent the track, their taxes paid for it and its upkeep. He wanted the hours to be more open, as they were in the past and to find ways for both the walkers and the user groups to co-exist. 

Administration claimed that the hours of operations before COVID were only 32 hours for the walking track. They felt that COVID extended the hours and that they were returning to pre-COVID hours. They noted that the groups using the turf have insurance and that there are only 5 to 9 walkers each hour. (All of my followers know that I am generally quite sympathetic to town administration…..but not this time. I have been an avid walking track user since 2018. That track was open in the evenings and weekends until at least 8PM 7 days per week. I know. I was there, using it several times per week. I walked around many soccer games, ultimate frisbee games, birthday parties etc…..In the evening, after 7:00, ALL THE TIME! Usually on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, there was nobody there except the walkers. It was COVID that greatly reduced the hours due to numbers being limited and social distancing directives etc. At one point, I even had to make an appointment to use it. And it was COVID  that caused the track not to be available to walkers while people rented the turf, since that would exceed the maximum number of people allowed in the area, as per maximums set by the government. Anyway, I realize that most of the town’s administration has only been working in town hall a very short time due to all of the turnover this past year or so, and I’m not sure where they got that information…..but it’s not accurate. I was using that track in the evenings and on the weekends regularly pre-COVID with very little restriction with times. Rant over. For now.) 

Councillor Crain felt that people had become accustomed to more hours being available at the walking track. (Actually, we were just happy to see that the track had gone back to the pre-COVID hours, until they cut the hours again last week. But I digress.)

Councillor McArthur felt that staff was in a bind. He noticed that the track area is Grand Central Station and is very busy. He noted that the mezzanine isn’t available and is used for storage. He noted that the user groups that rent the turf leave their bags on the track. He felt that it was a lot of people in a confined space. However, he noted that it is the public’s building and wondered about putting up signs to mitigate risk. He wanted the track open as much as possible. 

Councillor Pouget didn’t like the way the situation had transpired. She felt that user groups should change in the change rooms and keep their stuff in there too. She also felt that people should be responsible for their children and their supervision. She felt that a good solution should be found for everybody. (And….I know this doesn’t happen often either, but I agreed with Councillor Pouget LOL). But it was short-lived. Councillor Pouget then went on about how it is seniors that use the walking track and many have disabilities or use walkers. In fact, it is people of ALL ages that use that track…..and it’s people that work during the day and need that track open in the evenings and on weekends in order to be able to use it…..If it were mostly seniors, the limited hours would generally not be an issue since they are retired, I would think….? 

Anyway, Councillor Crain pressed on and wanted the track open to the hours that were available before the February 10th announcement. He said he didn’t want to get into micromanaging staff on how they would do it, he just wanted it done. 

And they voted. And it carried! Walking track hours returning to full availability! Woo hooo!!! 

By now it was about 8:50. I had had enough. After an hour and a half plus about Boblo and then sitting through the rest of the meeting, I decided to pack it all up and I left. I think the meeting wrapped up shortly after 9:00, but regardless, I don’t know. I went home. And started blogging…..

Council was supposed to go in-camera after the meeting too. 

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

Item A – Information Regarding a Proposed Disposition of Land That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, as amended, for the following reasons:

Item A – Information regarding a proposed disposition of land.

Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality. 

And that’s it folks! That’s the rundown of the “highlights”. Next week budget deliberations begin….if I thought last night was a big exercise in spinning your wheels and going nowhere, we’ll see what next week brings us….

Have a great week Amherstburg! 

In preparation for Monday February 13th Regular town council meeting

Well Monday night’s meeting is 835 pages! We may be there all night! But as I sat and went through it, there really aren’t any big issue items. So I will hold out hope that maybe, just maybe the meeting will be efficient and wrap up by 8:00. A girl can dream I guess. 

PRESENTATIONS

Bois Blanc Island Ferry Operational Response

For my regular blog followers, you may recall that council summoned Mr Amicone or his representative to come before them to explain about what happened with the ferry service during the December 23rd winter storm. If you recall, the water levels went down 5 feet and it affected ferry service for the residents of the island. 

Well, there is a powerpoint presentation linked to the agenda and it appears that a representative will be presenting it to council. Bear in mind that the recommendation is to receive the presentation. I foresee an amateur edition of Law & Order about this Monday night. Sometimes I think council thinks they’re a court of law, judge and jury all wrapped into one. 

The presentation includes Bois Blanc’s corporate structure. It then goes on to present the development agreement. 

This is probably the most important quote in the presentation : “The Town is not responsible in any way for access to or from Bois Blanc Island (Boblo Island), and the Developer and any subsequent Transferee acknowledge that the Corporation of the Town of Amherstburg will not provide access to Bois Blanc Island (Boblo Island), and the Developer and any subsequent Transferee shall not request or demand that the Town of Amherstburg provide such access.” 

So, if the town is not responsible for access to the island, why does council continue to get involved in something they’re not responsible for? 

The presentation goes on to outline the emergency response plan. It also details that ferry service is not guaranteed and can be disrupted due to weather, mechanical breakdowns, work stoppages etc. The presentation then outlines the times and date with the emails sent to residents about the ferry service. They also explain the various projects that have been completed or are nearing completion. 

Overall, it’s an excellent presentation. Kudos to Bois Blanc for coming before council with a presentation about what happened during the winter storm as well as other details about their organization. Hopefully council can be respectful, thank them and move on. 

If you’re interested, here’s the link to the presentation https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10136

Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant Opportunities

It looks like administration wants to apply for some grant funding to get some work done at the Gordon House. Here is the recommendation : 

It is recommended that: 

1. The Chief Administrative Officer or designate BE AUTHORIZED to submit a project application for the Gordon House Improvements to the Rural Economic Development (RED) Strategic Economic Infrastructure Stream (SEIS) with the following recommendations required for the submission;

a. Council APPROVES the following funding for the project: 

i. $40,000 recommended in 2023 in the capital budget for the Gordon House Improvements project (FAC-005-23); 

ii. $58,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

b. Council DIRECTS Administration to replenish the $58,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve in 2024 by a transfer from the Capital New reserve and; 

c. If the grant for the Gordon House is not awarded funding: 

i. Council DIRECTS that the $40,000 in 2023 proceed to complete the painting and siding and: ii. Council RESCINDS the allocation of $58,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

2. Chief Administrative Officer or designate BE AUTHORIZED to submit a project application for the development of a Business Retention and Expansion program to the Rural Economic Development (RED) Economic Diversification and Competitiveness Stream (EDCS), subject to the results of the 2023 budget deliberations approving the Economic Development and Communications position required to execute the project, and with following funding required for the submission; 

a. Council APPROVES the following funding for the project:

i. Up to a maximum of $92,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

b. Council DELEGATES authority to the Chief Administrative Officer or designate to obtain letters of support and or enter into agreements for in kind or financial contributions from other organizations for this project submission and; 

c. If the grant for the Business Retention and Expansion project is not awarded funding Council RESCINDS the allocation of $92,000 from the Tax Stabilization reserve and; 

3. That the Chief Administrative Officer and/or the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer BE AUTHORIZED to sign and execute any agreements, declarations or approvals required to submit the grant applications noted in the report of February 2, 2023.

Kingsbridge Subdivision Southwest Stormwater Management Pond –Acceptance of Infrastructure

Kingsbridge Subdivision Phase 5A– Acceptance and Assumption of Underground Infrastructure, Base Asphalt and Curbs – Placement of Surface Asphalt and Sidewalks on Maintenance

Kingsbridge Subdivision Phase 5B– Acceptance and Assumption of Underground Infrastructure, Base Asphalt and Curbs – Placement Surface Asphalt and Sidewalks on Maintenance

Each of these three items pertaining to Kingsbridge appear to be infrastructure, regular type things with development. 

Street Name Request for Canard Valley Estates Phase II Subdivision

It looks like two streets in the Canard Valley Subdivision need names. The developer is proposing Gertrude Drive and Garnet Crescent after his grandparents. 

I have written about this before, but I personally, do not think streets, or parks, or buildings or anything else should be named after people. Things can come out later that can call these decisions into question. How many statues have been removed? Buildings renamed? Even our own town has an ongoing debate of whether it should be renamed or not. We had a scandal not that long ago with naming rights at the Libro that had to be removed. When will we learn? 

At the very least, these are two first names of people, so that gives some leeway. But when I look at the inventory, it’s almost all people’s last names. And unfortunately, they are mostly all white men. 

Other than the names of Amherstburg veterans from the cenotaph, I think it’s time to take a serious look at the street-naming policy and move into the 21st Century and away from naming things after people. 

Cash In-Lieu of Parkland By-law

Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, has caused some changes for municipalities. From the financial impact section : “An impact of the Bill 23 changes to the Planning Act is that municipalities anticipate lower amounts of new parkland or cash in-lieu of parkland for new residential developments. Administration will be tracking all cash in-lieu over the 2023 period, capturing what the amount would have been by using the Town’s policy vs what is required based on the calculation set forth in Bill 23.” 

Canard Valley Estates Phase II – Subdivision Agreement File No. 37-T22010

This appears to be the beginnings of another subdivision agreement for Canard Valley Estates. This is good news!!! 

Request for Exemption from Interim Control

From the discussion section of the report : “In the report to Council titled “Interim Control By-law – Howard Industrial Park District Secondary Plan Area” (ICBL) that was considered and passed by Council on December 5, 2022, the property known as 7751 Howard Avenue was identified as having Consent and Site Plan Control applications that would be delayed from obtaining approvals until completion of the Howard Industrial Park District Secondary Plan. As such exemptions were included in the ICBL should there be a need for the property to proceed in advance of the completion of the ICBL. The applicant is proposing to sell part of the property to a company that intends to build and operate a concrete batch plant. The proponent of the batch plant indicates that the operation will result in over 40 permanent jobs in Amherstburg. The planned use for the site is consistent with the approved zoning amendment on the subject property. Administration supports this request for exemption as the exemption criteria has been met and the property owners have identified a financial impact to them and Town if the sale and resulting development is delayed.”

Property Standards By-law

It looks like the property standards bylaw is getting updated. Seems it hasn’t been done since 1999, so it looks like it is finally time! 

INFORMATION REPORTS

There are 3 information reports, which includes the cheque register report. I looked through it. Nothing jumped out at me. I only noticed that we paid the Integrity Commissioner, Bruce Elman, $3,457.80 as a fourth quarter statement of account. Otherwise, that’s it. I tried to see if it showed anywhere how much it cost us to have this document converted to be accessible so that it could be published. I couldn’t find it. I think they had estimated about $1,000 per month. It will be ironic to watch council knit pick the budget when they’ve already approved unbudgeted money during their short debut for other things. Like this. 

NEW BUSINESS

And always the wild card…..the new business section of the meeting can bring us anything. Literally anything. I’ll watch and listen and take notes as fast as I can. 

And this time, council will finish their meeting by going in-camera to discuss : 

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

Item A – Information Regarding a Proposed Disposition of Land That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, as amended, for the following reasons:

Item A – Information regarding a proposed disposition of land.

Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality. 

I’ll be back either Monday night or Tuesday night with the post-meeting blog! Have a great weekend Amherstburg!

February 8th Special town council meeting – police contract renewal

Well tonight was the meeting where council had to decide whether to renew the contract with Windsor Police Service for another 5 years. The meeting lasted about an hour, probably could have been half of that. In true Amherstburg form, this was a big picture issue, but some were delving into minutia and details and it dragged on……pretty much unnecessarily. Anyway, here’s the rundown. 

First council met at 4:00 in-camera to discuss : 

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended for the following reasons:

Item A – Policing

Section 239(2)(a) – the security of the property of the municipality or local board; Section 239(2)(f) – advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose; 

Section 239(2)(i) – a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the Municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization; 

Section 239(2)(k) – a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on behalf of the municipality or local board. 

The special meeting started at 5:00. 

There is only one item on the agenda : 

Contract for Policing Services between the Town of Amherstburg and Windsor Police Services Board

Here is the recommendation for the above item.

It is recommended that:

1. The report from the CAO dated January 23, 2023, regarding the renewal of the policing contract with Windsor Police Services BE RECEIVED; and,
2. The CAO BE DIRECTED to exercise the renewal clause in the contract dated October 12, 2018 between the Town of Amherstburg and the Windsor Police Services Board, (“WPSB”) for the five-year period commencing January 1, 2024 and ending December 31, 2028. 

I watched the meeting online from home. I’m sure glad I did. At least nobody could see my eye rolling. And I was very comfortable in my Lazy-Boy chair. 

***Councillor Courtney was absent tonight***

When the meeting began Councillor Pouget declared a conflict and stated that she has a family member that works for Windsor Police Service. She said was following the Integrity Commissioner’s advice. 

Mayor Prue asked for a motion stemming from the in-camera meeting to waive the solicitor/client privilege. He said that this would allow the public to know what happened during negotiations 5 years ago. 

The motion was made and carried. 

CAO Critchley explained that a RFP was submitted by Windsor Police Service in 2017. There was nothing in the agreement for an Amherstburg representative on the Board or a non-voting member. She said that ideas floated and discussion ensued that the Windsor Police Service Board would be open to the Mayor or his designate sitting on the Board. The CAO explained that there were concerns of the legality of binding future councils for this position since council terms are for four years yet the contract with Windsor Police is for five years.  So it was in the agreement that the Mayor would hold a Board position up until the end of last term (2022). She explained that Amherstburg would always be allowed a full service advisor that can attend all meetings, including in-camera meetings. CAO Critchley noted that the previous council was aware of all of this. (So, why the drama in the newspaper when Mayor Prue wasn’t appointed to the Board?????) 

Mayor Prue noted that there were no requests from the public for delegations. But he felt that since there were several people in the gallery that the rules of order should be waived to allow residents to speak. So they did. 

Nancy Atkinson was the only resident to speak. 

She had questions about some of the statistics in the report. I wrote it all down, but I’m saving myself a whole lot of time. I’ll link the report again at the end of the blog. The acting Police Chief explained the statistics and the anomalies. 

After a lengthy back and forth, Mayor Prue asked if there were any other residents that would like to speak. And crickets. Not one. 

Councillor Allaire had a brief question. (Kudos to her for keeping it brief and not getting into minutia.) 

Councillor McArthur then had a whole bunch of questions. Questions to do with the day to day operations, staffing levels and if there is anyone at the police station by day and by night. It got into minutia. One thing of interest though, now the officers don’t write their reports at the bricks and mortar police station building anymore. It seems that the old Amherstburg Police Department did. 

The only thing of interest was about the minimum number of officers on duty. The Police Chief said that if the minimum number is hit that they will call in more officers. He noted that anecdotally the officers are more visible than ever. It also seems that we will draw officers from Windsor when necessary and never vice-versa. So staffing levels are always consistent and reliable. 

Councillor McArthur acknowledged the savings that the contract has provided to the town. CAO Critchley explained that the average annual savings is $384,000 and there was a $1.7 Million savings from the life of the contract. 

Here are the accurate numbers from the report : 

Average Annual Cost of APS	$5,771,041
Average Annual Cost of WPS	$5,442,600
Average Annual Savings	$ 348,441
Total Average Savings over 5 Year Term	$1,742,205

Deputy Mayor Gibb then spoke. He said that he did not have a question but he did note that council was there today to decide if they were going to renew the police contract. He noted that what happened is done and that council needs to move forward. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb felt that we had four options. First, council could look at re-establishing our own police service but felt that the costs would be overwhelming. He also noted that the reserves that were supposed to be there (should we want to go back to our own police department) are simply not there. As well, we are ten months out from the end of the contract, which is too little time. Second he mentioned we could partner with LaSalle but their cost per resident for policing is high and again, there are only 10 months to do this. Third, he felt we could look at getting an OPP costing sometime over the next 5 years. The Deputy Mayor felt that there would be big savings in the $2 Million range but he noted he spoke with other leaders in other communities and certain ones are not satisfied with the level of service they receive. Fourth, he felt that we could simply renew the contract. He felt that this is not a bad option, we’re saving money and he noted that 90% of the respondents to the survey feel safe in Amherstburg. As well, 79% have a good opinion of Windsor Police Service. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb felt that they could sit and go through the numbers and parse them. (Which seemed to be the direction previous comments were going…..glad things seemed to be getting on track….) He noted that with his day job that he talks with people that have to deal with the Police and that they provide exemplary service. He noted he was disappointed that the Mayor wouldn’t have a vote on the Police Service Board but noted that the situation had been explained. Deputy Mayor Gibb felt that council didn’t have a choice, that the cost for policing is reasonable and that they provide good service. 

Councillor McArthur wondered about the costs to go back to our own police service and that the new radio system is estimated from $500,000 to $2 Million. 

CAO Critchley felt that it would add back around $350,000 in operational costs, would be about a 1.5% tax increase and would be ongoing. 

And then the gavel was passed…..sigh…..Mayor Prue felt that the previous council had set aside money in the eventuality of getting our own service back. He mentioned that $565,000 had been set aside and that the new budget recommends using this money to pay for new radios for the fire department, which would leave the reserve almost empty. (My blood ran cold. Does anyone remember the financial crisis leading up to the 2014 election? The one where reserve money was being taken and used for other things? Kind of like setting up a savings account for a home repair, then using that savings for a vacation? That’s what happened…..money pulled from reserves and used on other projects, not what it was meant for…..) He felt that the money had been spent. 

CAO Critchley pointed out that the money has not been spent. But she noted that there is not enough money set aside to go back to our own service. She felt that $250,000 per year would have to be set aside for 5 years to contemplate this. The Treasurer felt that $500,000 per year would be required……(So considering that the previous council wasn’t setting aside the savings into reserves, how will they suddenly come up with all of this money????)

Mayor Prue felt that he was surprised that it would be recommended to use the police reserve for fire radios. He felt that people do not want a tax increase. He felt that he would like to start building that reserve should people want their own service back. (Was this some kind of joke??? He had 4 years to set aside the savings and DID NOT!) 

He then took the gavel back. 

Deputy Mayor Gibb felt that before a motion was made, he had to read a section from the report regarding reserves. 

“A history of the activity in the Police Reserve from 2019 to present is as follows: 

• 2019 -Opening balance of $344,776 -No further activity 
• 2020 -Draft budget recommended a transfer to reserves of $564,000 -Recommended amount was decreased to $100,000 during budget deliberations -End balance of $451,394 (including interest) 
• 2021 -Council approved a transfer of $100,000 to the reserve -End balance of $557,806 (including interest) 
• 2022 – Budget did not include any transfers to the reserve”

Deputy Mayor Gibb felt that the previous council had made a conscious decision not to put money into reserves. He also felt that this is an ongoing problem in Amherstburg, that our reserves are not properly funded. He felt that there was no other option than to renew the contract at this point. 

Councillor McArthur spoke a lot. He seemed to try to defend their decision to underfund the police reserve. (Of note, Councillor McArthur, Councillor Courtney and Mayor Prue – as councillor) were all members of the previous council that would have made this decision during budget deliberations. Seems a low tax rate was wiser for the previous council than properly saving into reserves to even have an option to go back to our own policing if we had wanted to. 

Finally, Deputy Mayor Gibb made the motion, as recommended to extend the contract with Windsor Police for 5 more years. Councillor Allaire seconded it. 

Councillor Crain spoke briefly and said he had been quiet and listening. He recognized the savings that was had with the policing contract. He also noted that there was not enough money in reserves to go back and that would create a tax increase. He also noted that the additional services we receive from Windsor Police Service creates value for Amherstburg. He also mentioned that 90% of the survey respondents feel safe in Amherstburg. He felt that it was not smart right now to go any other route than to renew the contract. 

Councillor McArthur noted that the police “issue” was not an election issue at all in 2022. (A few tried to make it an issue in 2018 but it didn’t work out in their favour – they weren’t elected.)He noted that there were savings with the contract. He also felt that Mayor Prue not having a vote on the Police Board was a bit overblown in the media. (Tell me about it! It seemed quite overdramatic to me!)

And with that, it went to a vote and the motion carried. The contract with Windsor Police will be renewed for 5 years. Did we really have any other choice? 

I hope that council learned a lesson tonight, pre-budget……you can’t keep taxes low and invest in reserves. That seems to be the obvious lesson here. So they’d better think long and hard before the budget deliberations. Do we want low taxes or do we want money in the bank to be financially stable? Because clearly we can’t have both. What a fiasco with how the previous council handled the police reserves. And Councillor Courtney wasn’t even present to answer to it. 

Here’s the link to the full report for those who want to read the nitty gritty https://calendar.amherstburg.ca/council/Detail/2023-02-08-1700-Special-Council-Meeting/67a0c1ca-3fce-457b-a609-af9e017c0c02

In preparation for Wednesday February 8th Special council meeting

Well I was on the town’s website trying to find some information and I saw that there is a special meeting scheduled for this Wednesday at 5:00. And it looks like it will be an interesting one! 

First, council will meet in-camera at 4:00 to discuss : 

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended for the following reasons:

Item A – Policing

Section 239(2)(a) – the security of the property of the municipality or local board; Section 239(2)(f) – advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose; 

Section 239(2)(i) – a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the Municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization; 

Section 239(2)(k) – a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on behalf of the municipality or local board. 

Then the special meeting is set to begin at 5:00. 

There is only one item on the agenda : 

Contract for Policing Services between the Town of Amherstburg and Windsor Police Services Board

Here is the recommendation for the above item.

It is recommended that:

1. The report from the CAO dated January 23, 2023, regarding the renewal of the policing contract with Windsor Police Services BE RECEIVED; and,
2. The CAO BE DIRECTED to exercise the renewal clause in the contract dated October 12, 2018 between the Town of Amherstburg and the Windsor Police Services Board, (“WPSB”) for the five-year period commencing January 1, 2024 and ending December 31, 2028. 

The report is only 51 pages and is quite a fascinating read. I’ll include the link at the end of the blog for those who are interested in reading it in its entirety. But here’s the skinny : 

The report outlines the following four items as the points for council consideration : 

1. Levels of service experienced during the first term of the agreements; 

2. Financial savings during the first term of the agreements; 

3. Notable terms of the proposed renewal of the agreements; and, 

4. Options for Council moving forward. 

As far as levels of service, if you recall it was in the agreement that Windsor Police had to meet (or exceed) the levels of service that was offered by our former Amherstburg Police Service. The report contains a lot of statistics and services that are provided that show that the levels of service have been maintained and in some areas exceeded. Also a survey targeting random replies was done in 2022 and here are some of the results as per the report : 

• 90% of residents surveyed said they feel safe overall in the Town 
• 80+% of residents surveyed have a favourable opinion of the WPS  
• 75% of residents surveyed are satisfied with the overall performance of the WPS

As far as the savings portion of the report, that is fascinating! For those that continue to perpetuate the misinformation that there were no savings, you’d better read through this entire report. Here is the highlight : 

Average Annual Cost of APS	$5,771,041
Average Annual Cost of WPS	$5,442,600
Average Annual Savings	$ 348,441
Total Average Savings over 5 Year Term	$1,742,205

So, overall a pretty impressive savings over 5 years in my opinion. 

As far as options moving forward, in a nutshell, basically, council can : 

1. Re-establish the Amherstburg Police Force
2. Issue an RFP for Police Services
3. Renew the agreement with Windsor Police Services for 5 more years.

But, wait for it……the savings that were supposed to go into reserves????? Hold onto your hats…..From the report : 

“A history of the activity in the Police Reserve from 2019 to present is as follows: 

• 2019 -Opening balance of $344,776 -No further activity 
• 2020 -Draft budget recommended a transfer to reserves of $564,000 -Recommended amount was decreased to $100,000 during budget deliberations -End balance of $451,394 (including interest) 
• 2021 -Council approved a transfer of $100,000 to the reserve -End balance of $557,806 (including interest) 
• 2022 – Budget did not include any transfers to the reserve”

SOOOOOOOO…..the previous council did not put the money into reserves as they were supposed to…..I sat through those budget meetings…..they kept taking various amounts from different budget centres in order to lower the tax rate!!!!! Of note, the 2022 budget was prepared after a massive turnover of senior staff in town hall. So the recommendation that was supposed to be there for council, was not. The residents were told and promised that savings would go into reserves so that we would at least have OPTIONS at the end of the 5 year mark. Instead, council used the savings to lower the tax rate and didn’t put the money into reserves as we were promised and as was recommended in the budgets. So we got “low tax increases” but now we don’t have any money in reserves for policing – except the $557,806 which is really no money in reserves ultimately. What can be done with such a small amount of money? Can’t set up a new police force on that.

I will note that at this point of writing this blog I am only on page 11 of the report and I’m already unimpressed. 

The rest of the report outlines various statistics in regards to policing services and the survey that was done. 

After reading this report and seeing how the previous council did not set aside the savings as they ought to have, it looks to me like there really isn’t much choice to be had at all. Looks like we will have to renew the contract with Windsor, since we don’t have any money to do anything else. I guess we could seek an OPP costing, which would probably cost less money but would equate to less service, but considering we are ten months away from the end of the contract with Windsor Police……I really don’t think we have time on our side. Clearly we don’t have money on our side either. No time, no money…..but I bet council will sit there Wednesday night talking big like we’re in a position to negotiate! What a shame. 

Anyway, here’s the link to the full report for those who want to read the nitty gritty https://calendar.amherstburg.ca/council/Detail/2023-02-08-1700-Special-Council-Meeting/67a0c1ca-3fce-457b-a609-af9e017c0c02

Overall, the contract with Windsor Police has provided Amherstburg a nice amount of savings. Unfortunately those savings were not actually saved and were spent on other things……welcome to Amherstburg’s race to the bottom. Outrageous.