Chatham-Kent's tax impact continues to grow as council bails out more community groups pushing to keep local facilities open.
The Bothwell Scout Hut and Ridgetown Youth Centre were both on track to be shut down in 2016. But stakeholders in those respective communities will now get one year to prove to staff their programming is viable. Bothwell's arena is also under that year-long "probationary" period.
Budget Chair Derek Robertson says these deals can be avoided if council informs staff of their budget goals sooner.
"Council ought to give direction to staff earlier in the year, so they can begin their thought process with a clear direction," he says. "They'll be able to consult with the community in what we will frame as a respectful manner."
Shutting down both facilities would create an annual savings of $28,668. Instead, council elected to use base budget dollars to give the scout hut and youth centre one last shot to stay open.
However, Robertson says the funding of the facilities could have come elsewhere.
"The fiscally prudent move from this council would have been to utilize strategic reserves to fund them for one year, and then negotiate a compromise with the community to preserve the assets," he says.
The Community In Blooms initiative wasn't so lucky, as it has been kept as a service cut in the 2016 budget. If the cut is approved, it would create $76,891 in annual savings.
After the first week of budget deliberations, the tax impact has risen 0.15% to sit at a 3.44% increase, but Robertson says they're still looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.
"What we've done so far reminds me of a question a friend of mine asked me once: 'Why do you bang your head against a wall?' The simple answer is it feels good when you stop."
