Kawartha Lakes council approves one funding program, and sends another to the budget process

DAN CEARNS The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES: The City of Kawartha Lakes council is going to be discussing future funding, to support local organizations during their 2024 budget process.

At a meeting on Tuesday, October 24th, councillors approved a resolution made at the Committee of the Whole meeting, held earlier this month, to establish annual funding “in future City budgets, to support local cultural not-for-profit organizations and their operations, administered through an application-based process.” The resolution also called for $200,000 to be allocated in the 2024 budget, to launch this program which is currently titled the ‘Kawartha Lakes Cultural Funding Program.’ During discussion on this program, Ward 2 Councillor, Pat Warren made a separate motion to include $100,000 in the operating budget, “to support operating costs of not for profit, community-based organizations [which] are actively engaged in local economic development initiatives,” and to have a proposed framework created by city staff for the program.

“I definitely support the arts and culture [sector], absolutely. But there are other organizations out there,” Councillor Warren stated. “Some of these organizations only need $2,000 or $3,000 to help them with insurance. These organizations can raise money for capital [expenses] most of the time. It’s easy to raise capital. But it’s very, very difficult even to raise a small amount of money for operating [expenses].”

Ward 6 Councillor, Ron Ashmore said, he feels these organizations “do sort of get left out sometimes.”

“This would be a good addition. It would really help them out,” he added.

However, with the 2024 budget process already underway, and the city already seeing a budget not where they want it to be, expense wise, the idea of approving this motion did not fly with a number of councillors.

“Knowing what our budget pressures are, and knowing what else is going on, I don’t see how we’re going to get a report back prior to budget deliberations, in order to get this into the budget for 2024,” Mayor Doug Elmslie said.

Ward 5 Councillor, Eric Smeaton agreed with the Mayor’s position regarding this motion.

“We’re heading into one of the more difficult budgets we’re ever going to have, and I just see this as only a decision unit. I don’t know how we can be adding things to the budget through this process, when we’re weeks away from our budget [deliberations],” he said.

Councillor Warren later accepted a suggestion from Mayor Elmslie, to have this proposal decided on through the budget process, as a “decision unit,” rather than approved at a council meeting.