qathet Regional District (qRD) finance committee members have referred a motion to amend the regional district’s financial assistance policy back to staff.
At the May 1 finance committee meeting, directors considered an amendment motion that would incorporate new language into the policy, add new lines for the applicants to specify the amount of funding being requested, and remove the choice of three grant funding streams.
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said she was puzzled by the new line to specify the amount of funding being requested. She said it was her understanding that qRD already does this.
Electoral Area E director and committee chair Andrew Fall said there is no specific line for the item, rather than having it stated in the general budget that applicants provide as is now the case.
Celinde Lillies, assistant manager of financial services, said staff wanted to make it more clear that there was a spot where applicants could indicate how much they were requesting for funding.
City of Powell River director George Doubt said the more clarity there can be on the applications, the less disappointment there will be and the better the job the board can do in setting priorities for the limited funds available.
Fall put forward an amendment specifying the benefits to be considered in applications, such as developing skills, knowledge and experience for members of the community, providing arts, cultural and recreational opportunities for residents, creating improvements to environmental quality in the qathet region, and creating economic benefits.
Chief administrative officer Al Radke recommended that the committee postpone the matter and bring it back so everyone has the opportunity to digest the changes that Fall suggested.
City director Cindy Elliott and McCormick both said they were in favour of postponement. McCormick said she did not recall having a discussion about criteria for grants-in-aid, and in order to make decisions effectively, there needs to be a set of criteria on which to base those decisions.
“Since we are sending this back to staff, I ask that be part of the information that comes back to us is a recommendation on developing criteria for this grant,” added McCormick.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said it would be more appropriate to refer the recommendation in the agenda and Fall’s amendment to staff. Gisborne then made such a motion.
Radke said if the committee allowed staff to take a stab at it, he was proposing that staff reach out to other governmental entities and find out what they may contain in their policies for criteria.
“We will formulate what we think best fits within our domain,” said Radke. “Once it’s in report form the committee can look at it and expand on it. If you do have amendments, please submit them prior to the meeting date after the author finalizes the report.”
The motion to refer to staff carried unanimously.
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