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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2012-04-12, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2012. PAGE 19. Several municipalities claim to be understaffedDespite there being no budgetary impact this year as a result of the decision, the addition of planning department staff dominated the conversation at Huron County Council’s April 4 meeting. The issue was first raised by Goderich’s Deb Shewfelt who said his town was falling behind in planning service and that staffing had to be re-evaluated. Goderich is currently allocated half of a planner from the Huron County Planning Department, meaning that one of the county’s planners splits time between Goderich and another municipality.Shewfelt said that with the currentdemand for planning work in thetown, that allocation should be boosted to a full-time position strictly for Goderich. While none of the councillors disagreed with Shewfelt that the demand was there, the request sparked discussion regarding other municipalities whose representatives felt they were understaffed. Bill Dowson of Bluewater and George Robertson of South Huron, both municipalities currently staffed with one full-time planner each, felt they could use more help, perhaps another half-planner each. In order to meet Shewfelt’s request, Director of Planning andDevelopment Scott Tousaw saidthere would be no budgetimplications for the 2012 budget because a temporary position has already been put in place and accounted for. Past 2012, however, there would be an impact, as the position was only supposed to be temporary. Tousaw said to meet Goderich’s need in planning, the position would be made full-time when the contract for the temporary position came due. Currently Bluewater, South Huron and Huron East have all been allocated full-time planners, Central Huron has slightly less than a full- time planner (0.8 per cent of a planner) and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Goderich, Morris-Turnberry, North Huron and Howickall have half-time planners. Tousaw said that he had crunched some numbers and saw that of the nine municipalities in Huron County, Goderich came up as the most underserviced in terms of the planning department. He called Shewfelt’s proposition “a reasonable request”. “Goderich needs a full-time allocation,” Tousaw said. The motion to add the half of a planning position to the budget was then tabled for discussion, but Shewfelt was concerned that Goderich was not actually mentioned in the actual motion. He said he was concerned that the position would be allocated elsewhere and that Goderich should be mentioned in the actual wording of the motion. However, while the topic was being discussed, several other councillors felt their municipalitiesshould be considered.“One full-time planner is notdoing it,” said Dowson. “I think we should hire someone to beef up the planning. We need some discussion on that on our end too.” Warden Bernie MacLellan said he had no problem with Shewfelt’s request, but as far as allocating additional staff to Bluewater or South Huron, he said council should wait until the results of George Cuff’s organizational review of the county comes back. MacLellan said that staffing levels was certainly one of the areas Cuff was to investigate. The decision to add a half of a planning position to the 2012 budget, with no financial impact for the current year was then carried by council. Continued from page 10 member, Samantha Klaver was one of the many nominated for President’s Rose Awards from all over Ontario. Samantha was chosen as the Most Outstanding Junior Farmer Member of the Year. She was chosen for having shown outstanding leadership and dedication in organizing and/or participating in club and provincial events, initiative programs, promoting Junior Farmers’ and member recruitment during the past year. Samantha says she was very surprised when her name was announced at the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario’s Annual March Conference Banquet which this year, was held in Peterborough as there are a lot of dedicated and enthusiastic Junior Farmer Members all over the province. Samantha says it was a pleasant surprise and is very honoured to have been chosen. Continued from page 1 and the launch of the website, Clark says, is that the provincial population is getting older and communities are having to pull together now more than ever before. “The things we do today are going to be harder to do tomorrow,” Clark said. Clark said that one common theme in the community has always been the health and vitality of the community itself and the people within it. If you speak to members of the Legion, Clark says, they’ll say that they hope to honour the memory of local veterans and they want to benefit the community. Clark says that all service groups in the area have benefitting the community on their minds, and volunteering is at the very heart of that objective. “This can help us work together and be a community rather than in silos within the community,” Clark said. Clark said it’s these volunteers who help to support and build up the community, so they deserve to be honoured. Blyth’s volunteers will be recognized for their service and the new helpinblyth.ca website will be launched on Sunday, April 15 at Memorial Hall at 2 p.m. All are welcome to attend this monumental event. Continued from page 17 expansion plan needs to be completed to OMAFRA standards. A subcommittee of the BIA was formed to handle the issue of the business retention and expansion survey. The subcommittee will consist of BIA Chair Rick Elliott, Deputy- Reeve David Riach and Councillor Brock Vodden as members of North Huron Council, BIA Vice- Chair Peter Gusso, North Huron Economic Development Officer Connie Goodall as well as Barill. Old Tyme Country Breakfast Sunday, April 15 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at Londesborough Hall • Eggs • Bacon • Sausage • Pancakes and Homefries Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.00 Children Under 12 . . . . . . . . . $3.00 Sponsored by Londesboro Lions Club Proceeds for Community Betterment Family & Friends are invited to a Buck & Doe for Lacey McCall & Jeff Berlett Saturday, April 14 9 pm - 1 am Kurtzville Arena Lunch Provided Music by DJ Wicky Age of majority Tickets $7 Call 519-887-6339 Londesborough United Church 32nd Annual SONGFEST Sunday, April 15, 7 pm Featuring: Brittany Lyon - Soloist Camille Baker-Lehnen - Violinist The Westfield Snell Family - Dan, Heather, Rachael, Joel & Jonathan Clinton United Church Men’s Quartet Ken Scott, Bob Mann and Barb Bosman Admission: $10 12 years & under Free Refreshments to Follow Wow! I’m 75 this week Happy Birthday Mom (Donna Knight) Love, your family Happy 5th Birthday Lerissa on April 12 Love Dawson & Destiny Buck & Doe forTravis Campbell & Patty Lovell Saturday, April 21 9 pm - 1 am Wingham Legion Age of Majority / Lunch Provided Tickets $7 Advance/ $10 Door Bus Pickup Goderich Kinsmen Centre - 9:00 pm Dungannon Community Centre - 9:20 pm Lucknow Community Centre - 9:30 pm Wingham Departure - 1:00 am By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen Volunteer Week event to include all Blyth groups Junior Farmers win awards Subcommittee formed BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED Have A New Addition? Call for prices and details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Let everyone know about your new bundle of joy! The Citizen