Chatham-Kent event organizers will no longer get hit with extra fees this year.
An amended version of Councillor Bryon Fluker's motion passed 14-1 at Monday night's council meeting, which calls for new event fees that were added and approved in the 2018 budget to be removed.
This motion comes after Fluker was shocked to discover that the local Legion was charged for hosting last year’s Remembrance Day service at the Chatham Cenotaph.
Several veterans and Legion members spoke at the meeting and expressed the importance of having these special event fees removed so they can continue to host parades and ceremonies for the community free of charge.
Fluker says there was also a $100 increase for events within the community, which has now been removed as a result of Monday night's motion.
Chatham-Kent's Chief Human Resources Officer Cathy Hoffman says event organizers that paid these added fees this year will be reimbursed.
Chief Financial Officer Mike Turner says the municipality will be forgoing about $23,000 by removing these added event fees.
Councillor Karen Herman thinks the added fees were a mistake in the first place.
"We made an error in the budget and we should just count this one off and move on," she says.
