By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg council's Strategic Priorities and Policy standing committee had its first meeting Tuesday, with approval of the 2024 draft budget high on its priority list.
In the end, that discussion will have to be continued at a catch-up committee meeting planned for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, January 18.
The draft presented had a levy increase in excess of 8%, which did occasion much examination and debate.
One widely accepted reason for the inability to come in with a budget at the hoped-for target of 5% is the action of past councils that held down tax increases, when they perhaps should have produced budgets that looked to the future a little more proactively. Treasurer Adam Giddings provided a chart that shows a 1.6% increase (in a year when inflation was 1.94%), a 1.9% increase in 2020 (when inflation was 0.7%), a 0.2% drop in 2021 (when inflation was 3.43%), a 2.9% increase in 2022 (when inflation was 6.8%) and a 6.6% increase last year (when inflation was 4.12%).
Mayor Lucas Cleveland put a motion on the floor that staff come back with five or more options on the reduction of services and/or positions, and the impact of these cuts in hopes of “a more realistic budget in 2024 that would provide the ability to hold the tax levy to a 2% to 3% growth increase” for 2025 and 2026.
Also, similar to the practice with Northumberland County tax levies, the motion called for a 1% dedicated infrastructure levy to be added to this and future budgets in a bid to strengthen declining reserves which he said “could use a little love, to say the least.”
The motion did not pass, and most of the afternoon session involved councillors going through the budget to pick out items for further discussion. Councillors did not even complete this review when the previously agreed-upon adjournment time rolled around and a special council meeting to confirm the new standing-committee structure of council had been called.
Cleveland asked for a few minutes to put another motion on the floor. This one targeted the 13 new hires in the budget, directing staff to prioritize the entire list in terms of each one's importance to council's approved Strategic Plan.
Though Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan likened that to “comparing apples to oranges to tomatoes,” she did commit to a senior staff meeting to put together information for council that might be helpful in this regard.
This motion was carried.
Cleveland then put forth part of his previous motion, bringing back that 1% dedicated infrastructure levy for consideration. The motion died when no one seconded.
The committee meeting and its budget deliberations will continue on the Jan. 18 date that was set. This was deemed preferable to deferring unfinished business to the next regularly scheduled committee meeting on Feb. 6, because the hope was to have an approved draft ready for council to pass at its Jan. 31 meeting.
Council makes transition to standing committees official
Tuesday's inaugural meeting of Cobourg council's Strategic Priorities and Policy standing committee not only launched a new operating structure for council, but also provided a chance for committee assignments and a review of how things will work.
While the Strategic Priorities and Policy standing committee consists of every member of council, assignments made to the other three committees saw Mayor Lucas Cleveland holding a seat on each one. Otherwise, memberships consists of:
Corporate, Finance and Legislative – Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty and Councillor Randy Barber
Public Works, Planning and Development – Councillors Brian Darling and Miriam Mutton
Community Services, Protection and Economic Development – Councillors Adam Bureau and Aaron Burchat
Cleveland described how each councillor had been polled on his or her preferences for council assignments. Thanks to one councillor who had no preference and was slotted into one remaining slot, each councillor got his or her first choice.
The meeting schedule calls for committees to meet the first week of the month – Strategic Priorities and Policy at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Community Services, Protection and Economic Development at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Public Works, Planning and Development at 1 p.m. Wednesday, and Corporate, Finance and Legislative at 1 p.m. Thursday.
The role of these committees will not be to take action, but to make recommendations for actions that need to be taken to the regular session of council – which will now take place the last week of the month, Wednesday at 6 p.m.
This replaces the former system of a committee-of-the-whole meeting Mondays at 6 p.m., followed the subsequent Monday by a 6 p.m. regular council meeting and, the Monday after that, by a blank spot on the calendar (which could be pressed into service for public meetings, if necessary) – in a regular three-week rotation
With three committee members, a quorum is considered to be two members present. If two members are absent, the meeting may be rescheduled or even cancelled.
Councillor Miriam Mutton asked if alternates should be named for each member.
“I have made it quite clear in my past comments – and I haven't changed my position – that when you have a quorum of two, it seriously undermines the ability of this council to function,” Mutton insisted.
Municipal Clerk Brent Larmer reminded her that this is not a concern, since decisions made by the committees are not final until approved at a regular council session.
