No Parking at County

Jeff Green | May 29, 2014

In spite of a plan to “park” $3.5 million in reserves in a number of different funds as they had agreed among themselves to do two weeks earlier at a Committee of the Whole meeting, Frontenac County Council got cold feet at a formal council meeting last Wednesday May 21.

They decided to defer a motion allocating the money until they have a chance to talk about it at least one more time. It will remain in a temporary parking spot as an unallocated reserve fund for at least another month.

The proposal from the Committee of the Whole was to place $2.1 million in a strategic planning fund as follows: $100,000 to Waste Management Planning; $1.5 million to seniors' projects; and $500,000 for economic development. Another $200,000 was to go for Asset Management requirements; $340,000 for capital commitments under cost sharing agreements; $380,000 towards the Frontenac Renovates Program; $30,000 for land acquisition as part of the trails development initiative, $154,000 for community improvement plans; and $100,000 for energy efficiency programs.

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle was the first to suggest that the proposal should be deferred.

“We said all along we would not complete the reserve discussion before we finalize our strategic plan, which won't happen until June 18,” he said.

Councilor John McDougall, referring to a long range planning presentation earlier in the meeting by new County Chief Administrator Kelly Pender, said, “I think it is premature to do this now."

Although he supported the deferral, Councilor David Jones said, “If we don't make these decisions soon we are going to be managed out of our chair here. We have to commit ourselves to finishing this and finishing it fast before our time runs out.”

Councilor John Purdon said, “We are not moving too fast or too slow; we are just not moving at all. We are only parking money, one way or another.”

Councilor John Inglis agreed. “I see value in adopting this plan, we are not actually spending any money.”

Nonetheless, the motion to defer was approved.