Council reversed an earlier decision and will provide a $300 grant to the Wellington Home and Farm Safety Association.
Council approved the donation at its Jan. 25 Committee of the Whole meeting, after receiving additional information from the group. The association’s grant request had been turned down at an earlier meeting. However the group filed a new request, this time outlining their connections to Minto.
The association plans a Farm Safety Day in Mount Forest that is expected to draw children from Minto, as well as North Wellington. They also set up a display at the Drayton Farm show, which also draws participants from Minto, the group states.
“This year we require a more modern display board that we must pay for with our own money, to use at these events,” explained vice president Walter Grose in the letter to council.
Councillor Ron Faulkner questioned council’s role in providing financial support to organizations.
“I feel I’m not elected to donate to charities and that kind of thing,” he said.
Councillor Ron Elliott agreed. “I agree with Ron and Councillor (Rick) Hembly (who has spoken out against the practice in the past) that it’s difficult to give out taxpayers’ money to associations. That’s why we have Lions Clubs and Kinsmen Clubs.”
Mayor George Bridge reminded councillors that a new donation policy is currently under development by town staff and encouraged them to participate in that process. However, he noted, the issue before council was an individual donation request, that did fit within the municipality’s existing policy. “It’s fine to make all these motherhood statements,” said Bridge, while cautioning that cutting donations to groups could prove complicated.“If we make the decision, we better be prepared to ease it out progressively. There are going to be groups out there that rely on this money to run programs and they’re going to say, ‘Well, then you run the program.’” In the long run, he noted, it is generally cheaper to support volunteer organizations than to run the same programs using municipal staff.
Council voted 3-1 to make the donation, with Councillors David Turton and Mary Lou Colwell voting in favour along with Faulkner. Elliott opposed the motion.
