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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2013-02-28, Page 29THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013. PAGE 29. Huron County Council is hoping to finally have a policy in writing to help them handle how and to whom they distribute their money. Concerned that groups were appearing before council and seeing grants approved simply because council was “too soft” to say no to the applicant’s face, staff has been instructed to draft a grant policy and bring it back to a future meeting. Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard said the grant process was one of the first things she discussed with the now-departed acting CAO Heather Adams. While a recommendation on grants was not in consultant George Cuff’s report from last year, Orchard said that the day’s meeting, a Committee of the Whole meeting on Feb. 20, was as good as any to discuss the topic, as council would be seeing the first draft of the budget later in the day.Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said the county should definitely have a budget for grants, but that the budget should allow some room for one-off incidents that come up. He used the 2011 tornado in Goderich as an example. Van Diepenbeek suggested a budget with a total amount to be spent across the multitude of grant applications council receives over the course of the year. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan said that it had been no secret that when a member of the public was in front of council pleading their case, that council was inclined to approve their recommendation right then and there. Goderich’s John Grace said that he liked the idea of an annual schedule for grants, but that many requests that came through are not annual. He used the example of the recently- approved request to sponsor a tableat the Southwestern Economic Alliance’s annual meeting that will be held in Goderich next year, which will be a one-off donation. It was also suggested that as part of the grant process that the applicant submit a copy of the previous year’s financial statement. Some councillors were concerned that organizations may be coming to council asking for a grant when they in fact have substantial reserves saved for future projects. “I think it’s important for people to know that we don’t have as deep of pockets as some applicants think,” said North Huron’s Neil Vincent. Orchard said that she had encountered situations just like that at one of her previous positions and was planning on making that part of the policy. Howick’s Art Versteeg said that all he wanted out of the impending policy was consistency, which he said council has had over the years, but not in a good way.“I think we need to be consistent,” Versteeg said, “though we have been consistent since I’ve been here – everyone who’s asked for money gets it.” Orchard also said that she was concerned about applicants being “bold” and being rewarded for it. Goderich’s Deb Shewfelt, however, felt that it wasn’t as big of an issue as other councillors weremaking it out to be. He said that awarding a grant the same day as a presentation being made had only been done about three times in 2012, which left him thinking that it wasn’t that big of a problem. Orchard and staff were then instructed to draft a policy on grant applications and present it to council for approval at a future meeting. 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Ontario CraneRentals Box 134, Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0 519-392-6469 Cell: 519-357-7869 1-866-392-6469 Fax: 519-357-3798 Email: marlene.baker@sympatico.ca Merv 24 HOU R SERVIC E FULL Y INSU R E D BROWN’S PHARMASAVE All Natural Gas Services Furnaces, Fireplaces, & Water Heaters Sales & Services BLYTH 226-222-0821 Susan Alexander, CFP CLU CHS EPC Certified Financial Planner 472 Turnberry St. PO Box 69 Brussels, Ontario N0G 1H0 519-887-2662 • 1-866-887-2662 Fax: 519-887-2671 Email: susan@sholdicefinancial.com Website: www.sholdicefinancial.com SUNSHINE COUNTRY CONSULTING ACCOUNTING & INCOME TAX SERVICES Ralph Watson 810 Turnberry St., Brussels, ON N0G 1H0 Bus.: (519) 887-6011 sunctry@ezlink.ca By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen Huron County Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Orchard got the power Huron County Council had promised her at the Feb. 20 Committee of the Whole meeting. Acting on a recommendation from the report made by consultant George Cuff, Orchard presented a report to council to establish a hiring policy between herself and the rest of the senior management team (including those who have yet to be hired). In his report last year, Cuff recommended that council should By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 31