Municipality of the District of Clare
SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL
Monday, April 8, 2019 at 7:00 pm
PRESENT: Council: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Nil Doucet, Councillors, Danny Hill, Hector Thibault, Brian Comeau, Eric Pothier, Carl Deveau and Yvon LeBlanc
Staff: CAO Stéphane Cyr, Director of Finance, Ginette Cheff, Director of Community Development, Pam Doucet, Recreation Manager, Réanne Titus, Tourism Manager, Larry Peach, Community Development Officer, Réanne Flynn, Executive Assistant, Ashley Hanks
ABSENT:
1) Call to Order
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm
2) (a) Approval of the Agenda
Warden LeBlanc asked for the approval of the Agenda.
MOVED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the proposed agenda be approved as presented.
MOTION CARRIED
(b) Declaration of Conflict of Interest
The Warden asked for any declarations of conflict of interest.
Deputy Warden Nil Doucet declared a conflict for an item in the Closed Session, under Grants to Organizations.
3) Business Arising from Previous Council Meetings
None
4) Correspondence
None
5) New Business
5.1 Review of Draft Budget
The session commenced with a review of the sub-budgets pertaining to the Department of Community Development.
The Director of Community Development presented the Administration Budget for the department. It is very similar to last year’s budget. Council had no issues with this proposed budget.
The Community Development Officer presented the proposed budget for the 2019 Gran Fondo which contains an overall increase of $500 when compared to last year’s budget. Budget highlights include an increase in sponsorship revenue, an increase in administrative expenses, a reduction in marketing costs and a $15,000 contribution from Council. Of this $15,000, $10,000 will be immediately available to the Organizing Committee. The remaining $5,000 will be made available if required and subject to Council approval. Council remains very supportive of the Gran Fondo and recognizes it as a signature event for Clare and had no issues with this proposed budget.
The Recreation Manager presented her draft budget for 2019-2020. Again, this was very similar to the previous year’s budget. Some programs have been removed and funds allocated to new projects for this year. Revenue is up $9,000 over 2018-19 levels due to an increase in recreational grant revenues, and expenses are down by $4,993. As per usual, Recreation will be hiring 4 summer students. Council had no issues with the budget as presented.
The Director of Community Development presented the budget for Building Services. Again, this budget is very similar to the previous year’s budget, the only exceptions being a step increase to salary levels and a $4,000 increase to the training allotment for the year. Council had no issues with the proposed budget.
The Tourism Manager presented his draft budget for 2019-2020. This too was very similar to the previous year’s budget in terms of both revenues and expenses. Overall, revenues are projected to increase by $3,350 while expenses are expected to decrease by $3,285. Highlights include a continued focus on advertising and promotion as well as a refreshing of existing marketing collateral including the Arts de la Baie pamphlet and the Clare tear-off map. Council had no issues with the budget as presented.
The CAO and the Director of Finance presented the remainder of the Municipality’s proposed $9,412,599 operating budget for 2019-2020. The budget is balanced and calls for the residential and commercial property tax rates to remain unchanged from 2018-2019 levels, specifically $1.04 and $2.07 per $100 of assessment respectively. The budget does however call for a $0.06 increase to the area rate collected for fire departments, from $0.05 to $0.11, as part of a necessary fleet replacement strategy. Other highlights include a continued commitment to the provision of services in both official languages, a renewal of the low- income property tax exemption and dedicated funding for both the Festival acadien de Clare and the Transport de Clare.
Council was pleased with the proposed budget and staff’s efforts to have this exercise completed prior to the April 2019 Regular Council meeting.
As part of these budget deliberations, Council passed the following motions:
PROPOSED BY Councillor Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare contribute $10,000 to 1a Société Édifice Sainte-Marie de la Pointe to aid in the preparation of a fundraising strategy for the restoration of the Église Sainte-Marie.
MOTION CARRIED
PROPOSED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Eric Pothier that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend the appointment of Warden Ronnie LeBlanc to the Board of Directors of la Société Édifice Sainte-Marie de la Pointe.
MOTION CARRIED
PROPOSED BY Councillor Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare contribute $7,897 to the Centre acadien (Université Sainte-Anne) as part of its project entitled ‘‘Mise en valeur du patrimoine culturel et historique des Acadiens et Acadiennes de la Nouvelle-Écosse’’.
MOTION CARRIED
6) Closed Session
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council proceed to an in-camera session.
MOTION CARRIED
Topic discussed:
6.1 Grants to Organizations
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council return to the Special Meeting of Council.
MOTION CARRIED
7) Date and Time of the next Regular Council Meeting
The next Regular Council Meeting will be held on April 17, 2019 at 7:00 pm.
8) Adjournment
MOVED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet to adjourn the meeting at 10:25 pm.
Submitted by:
Ashley Hanks
Executive Assistant