Council to consider a budget/finance committee
Possibly because Council members had just spent all afternoon at the final budget workshop, the Township’s finances were at the top of everyone’s mind at Monday evening’s Council meeting.
Most interesting was a notice of motion put forth by Councillor Thom Paterson, indicating that he will bring the concept of a new budget/finance committee to Council for debate at its April 30 meeting.
According to Paterson’s proposal, the committee would be comprised of members of Council, Township staff and representation from the community. It would be a standing committee of Council, open to the public, meeting monthly and reporting to Council on a regular basis.
The committee would act on behalf of Council to provide advice and oversight on matters related to the annual budget process as well as the multi-year financial outlook of the Township.
Roles would include working closely with the Township management team to recommend annual pre-budget departmental estimates, the setting of realistic revenue projections, an overview of the economic state of the Township, the prioritization of planned capital and operating projects, the establishing of necessary contingency funding policies and the reviewing and advising on current and planned levels of service.
Responsibilities would include, but not necessarily be limited to, developing budget policies and processes, regularly monitoring and reporting on actual spending to budget, consulting with the public to obtain feedback on the type and level of services received and requested, as well as providing information on the associated costs of providing these services. As a precursor to the annual budget review process, the committee would prepare a preliminary list of tax-funded programs in consultation with the management team as well as their expected impact on the tax levy.
In accepting the notice of motion, Councillor Shawn Davidson wondered how members would be chosen from the public, as well as how much extra staff work would be required. Paterson said he had not considered a method for selecting public members, but said that if that was to be a stumbling block, he’d be happy for the committee to not include members of the public but to call on them for advice when needed.
Earlier in the meeting, Council accepted the new four-year negotiated contract for its unionized workers, but when it came time to approve the same pay increases for its non-unionized staff, which has always been Township policy, much discussion ensued. Councillor Paterson tried to persuade Council that the decision should be deferred until the new budget/finance committee, should it be created, can investigate whether automatic increases are warranted in the current economic climate. The possibility of a pay increase system based on merit was also discussed. In the end, Paterson’s deferral did not win support from Council, but when Councillor Brent Preston then moved that the union-equitable pay raise be insitituted for the period from April, 2012 to April, 2013 only at this point, with a decision on the next three years to come later, the motion passed, with only Mayor Ken Ferguson and Councillor Deb Bronnee not voting for Preston’s amendment.
