County councillors were seething here on June 24 after reading about charges by MPP Liz Sandals and Guelph officials that the county has improperly spent money designated for children.
Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj was particularly upset at charges Sandals made in the Guelph Mercury on June 23 supporting statements by city officials that the county had misused Best Start money provided by the province.
Sandals cited money used for a childcare in Mount Forest, and stated in that article, “Given that we seem to have the majority of the need (in Guelph) and the lions share of the bill, it seems when the funds are allocated they should be allocated with that in mind.”
What irked Ross-Zuj was Sandals did not bother to contact the county about the issue, for which she also said she was “frustrated.” Ross-Zuj said no county politicians or staff were asked about the expenditures. Sandals simply made the statements without checking.
Ross-Zuj said in an interview city officials seem to have a poor memory of what actually occurred. She has minutes from the social services meeting going back to 2005 when that then-joint county and city committee asked for proposals on how to best spend the child care funding the province was providing.
The minutes show then city Mayor Kate Quarrie and councillors David Birtwistle, Rocco Furfaro, and Gloria Kovach were present when that call went out, and in September of 2006 they were present when the Mount Forest project was deemed to be the one most needed within Guelph and Wellington.
Since then, she said, current Mayor Karen Farbridge and councillors Vicki Beard, Bob Bell and Maggie Laidlaw were present all through the process that led to the site selection and the resulting building.
“Maggie was part of the committee that picked the architect,” Ross-Zuj noted of a of Guelph’s social services committee chairman.
Ross-Zuj said from 2006 to 2009, all the decisions about Mount Forest childcare project were done with Farbridge and the county warden present.
“Nothing was being taken from the city of Guelph,” Ross-Zuj said.
Sandals also stated the majority of the money should have gone to Guelph, and criticized the county for keeping funds in reserves.
According to Director of Child Care Louisa Della Croce, Mount Forest had always been identified as being in need of childcare services. She said when the joint social services committee considered the proposal for that project, “It was a good fit,” and it was approved.
The county runs social services under a mandate from the province, and it considers needs for the entire area. There is only one other centre for childcare and that is located in Guelph. It was built in the 1980s because of the need.
Della Croce also explained that since 2005, the social services committee has received $14.5-million from the province for child care services, and $1.6-million was spent on Mount Forest, while another $3.5-million was placed in reserves.
County social services committee chairman Gord Tosh said it is prudent to place cash in reserves because provincial childcare funding tends to be spotty at best, and when there was an economic downturn last year, the money was there to keep running programs that might have been lost.
Sandals was also highly critical about the county not passing all the required bylaws for St. Joseph’s social housing project. She complained in the Mercury article that two bylaws were needed, but the county passed only one bylaw in May. That is true.
Sandals did check on that one with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and heard the province had not received all the paperwork from the county. She did not check with St. Joseph’s officials, who told the Mercury that it has “been working hard to meet all the conditions to make sure we are ready…”
Tosh explained at county council that St. Joseph’s officials had not completed their full application, and the county has to do its due diligence to make sure all the work is done before it sends in such applications. That bylaw was on the June agenda and passed.
Councillors upset
At county council on June 24, Tosh told council the city was alleging the childcare funds were misspent, but he said there is “absolutely no doubt the funds were properly used … Part of the problem is the corporate memory has been lost.” He was referring to Guelph having a new treasurer and acting chief administrative officer.
The Mercury reported that it was Treasurer Margaret Neubar who told the city social services committee the county should have paid the entire cost of the Mount Forest project, and Sandals told the Newspaper she agreed.
Councillor Chris White asked Tosh who had been present from the city when the Mount Forest decisions were made. Tosh said it was Farbridge, Bell, Beard and Laidlaw.
White asked, “So they were fully informed at the time?”
Tosh said, “People have forgotten.”
Councillor Lynda White said, “I am deeply offended by this article. I’m offended by the way the city has carried on.”
Beaten and angry?
As for Sandals, Lynda White said, “I’m also offended by the Guelph MPP. I find it very unprofessional” that she would make statements against the county without checking the facts.
Councillor Walter Trachsel said, “I’m really discouraged a sitting member would criticize a building in my ward,” and added he supported councillor Lynda White’s comments.
Councillor John Green said Guelph council seems to still be upset because complaints from the city have been coming to the county regularly “ever since the enforced arbitration.”
That decision came down earlier this year after the city took the county to court over the way social services billing was done. The county won that battle handily.
Green said, “The city seems to be mad – and I don’t know why. They took us to court. They lost … If the city is mad, they should be mad at themselves. The citizens should be mad. Politicians sometimes make mistakes. Why challenge us?
“I don’t know, but I’d be appreciative of an answer.”
Sandals was not answering any questions about why she made the statements about the county and with whom she had checked her facts.
When telephoned early Friday morning, a staff member at her office said she was busy all da, travelling, and would be unable to phone. The staffer said Sandals would be available on Monday morning.
On Monday, a phone message was not returned and when the Advertiser reporter phoned again, he was told Sandals was in committee meetings all day and unable to call.
