Even if councillors here are shying away from a proposal about community grant applications, they still believe it is the right way to go.
At the Feb. 29 council an staff meeting, clerk Kathryn Ironmonger brought ideas for groups seeking financial assistance.
Ironmonger said she brought the idea because councillors had mentioned the struggle it has each year with groups asking for financial help. What was at council is something used by a nearby municipality.
She noted Wellington County’s policy is a lot less.
Ironmonger said the example provided was just to give an idea of information council could ask for.
Councillor Barb Tocher asked to have a copy of the county application form to use for comparison.
Mayor Lou Maieron said Wellington County has a set budget for its grants as well. He provided a recent list of grants as well.
He said at the county level, “This used to be one of the longest discussions at the finance and personnel meetings. You can pass budgets of millions of dollars, but when it came to grants, it would take forever.”
One thing they did, was set a limit, Maieron said. This year, it is $40,600. He said the next step the county did, was to pre-qualify certain applications that are done each year.
Each year, the county sponsors 10 scholarships – so unless there is an objection – they are in every year. Plus there are a number of set requests from agricultural and farming organizations.
He said there are a number of community programs which apply each year. However he added special circumstance and community event requests change each year. Pre-qualified grants account for roughly three-quarters of the grant allocations.
“It went from a two-hour process to something that took ten minutes.”
Tocher said she did not object to setting a budget for grant applications, but she objects to certain committees of council being included on the grant list. As part of council expenses, Tocher believes those costs should be part of the main town budget.
Town manager Lisa Hass believes the costs were placed there simply to let council be aware of them.
Maieron said the approach taken by the county simplifies the grant process. The other concern raised was complexity of forms and the requirements might actually dissuade some groups from applying.
While councillor John Brennan saw merit in some of the information requested, “Lots of little places may not have the type of information needed to fill these out. If we send this out to the local church requesting annual audited reports and financial statements, they’re going to say ‘Forget it’.”
Ironmonger said the intent is more to provide proof money is being spent for the reason it was sought.
Maieron said the county application is a lot less complex, “but it still looking for some accountability.”
Tocher said in the past there were a number of charitable organizations on Erin’s grants list. Council eventually questioned why it was making donations on behalf of taxpayers, she said.
Tocher said another example came when donations were made to more than one fall fair, even though there is only one fall fair in Erin. “Even though residents may go to the other fairs, that is not the point.”
Ironmonger was directed to bring the county grants policy back to council.
