By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Haldimand County Council has reviewed and voted unanimously in favour of adopting a new ward-specific funding program that allots $50,000 annually to each of Haldimand’s six ward councillors to help fund capital projects on municipal property.
Councillors will have discretion over the funds, either using them annually toward a number of smaller projects or rolling them over to build up to a four-year total of $200,000 that can be applied to a larger project.
The program is expected to begin with the County’s Draft Tax Supported Capital Budget and Forecast meeting on March 3. It will replace the currently used process for adding projects into the Tax Supported Capital Budget that weren’t included in the initial draft budget, in which councillors presented projects through a deliberation process that “creates some uncertainty and a sense of competition” about which councillors’ projects make the annual budget, according to a County staff report.
Councillor Metcalfe, following up on a concern from a resident, asked about the legality of the program.
County CAO Craig Manley replied, “A citizen has contacted Council suggesting this program is running afoul of provincial law. The short answer is it’s not. This program exists across the province in other municipalities, most notably Hamilton, so I’m totally confident that there is no legal issue if you decide to pursue it.”
Councillors Rob Shirton and Dan Lawrence spoke in favour of the program.
“I think this initiative we’re putting forward today is a great idea. In the past, the wards that were able to use the Vibrancy dollars basically were the ones that were impacted,” said Shirton, noting that Wards 3 and 6 did not receive monies from the Vibrancy Fund as they were not impacted by the construction of turbines and solar panels. “Even when a councillor was moving things forward with the use of Vibrancy dollars during their term, it still had to get approval by the other councillors.”
He continued, “What this allows is the flexibility if you want to do something big in your ward over your four-year term, you can accumulate the dollars…. I would suggest each councillor maybe talk to their constituents and see what they maybe might want to do. They might buy in for a bigger project, or they may want some smaller ones.”
While the program allows councillors the ability to roll funds forward throughout their term, all remaining funds not used by the end of the current Council term will be returned to the County’s reserves.
“It provides us with some financial means to get some really good projects going in our wards, whether it’s a speed sign for community safety or so forth, it allows us some flexibility,” said Lawrence.
Manley cautioned that the program is not a free-for-all: “There are parameters for what it can be used for. One of the controls is it does need to be ratified by Council through the budget process. There are checks and balances to make sure the money is being used properly.”
Implementation of the program into the 2023 Draft Tax Supported Capital Budget and Forecast passed unanimously.
