The Citizen, 2013-03-14, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013. PAGE 13. Huron Eastapproves grants
Good job
The Blyth Skating Club held its annual year-end awards ceremony and showcase on Friday,
with several skaters being awarded for their achievements in power skating. Showing off their
new hardware are, back row, from left: Alex Coultes, level three gold; Jacob Gulutzen, level
three gold; Les Irvine, level six gold; Colin Howson, level six gold and Bailey Bos, level three
gold. Front row, from left: Ray Horan, level six gold and Allison Stevenson, most improved
power skater. Absent were: Oliver Sawchuk, most improved power skater; Alycia Coultes, level
three gold; Lucas Townsend, level three gold and Jason Eckert, level three gold. (Vicky Bremner
photo)
Huron East councillors approved
over $17,000 in grants at their
March 5 meeting.
In a discussion council has every
year, several councillors lamented
that organizations had yet to file
formal requests with the
municipality, instead assuming that
their grant requests would be
approved even if they were
submitted after council’s budget
deadline.
After much discussion, council
decided only to approve requests
that had been officially filed, or
organizations that operate as
committees of council. Sticking to
their strict requirements, council had
soon spent over $17,000 of its
$20,000 grant budget.
Councillors agreed that with this
year’s tight budget, it wouldn’t make
sense to approve grants to
organizations that didn’t ask for
them.
“If someone doesn’t request it,
why send them a cheque if they
didn’t even ask for it?” MacLellan
said.
Brussels Councillor David Blaney
said he was concerned with
council’s insistence on seeing a
financial statement from an
organization requesting a grant.
The motivation behind asking for
a financial statement, he said, is to
ensure that an organization doesn’t
have a wealth of reserves in the
bank, while at the same time coming
to council with its hand out.
However, Blaney said he didn’t
want council to “wait until they’re
broke” to approve funds for an
organization.
He said these grants often prevent
organizations digging themselves
into that hole and keep them afloat
before having to enter a dire
financial situation.
He also assured council that none
of the organizations coming to
council asking for grants are
“wealthy”.
MacLellan agreed, but said that if
public funds are being committed to
these organizations, that council
owed it to the taxpayers to do its
research.
Approved after filing requests
were $1,000 for the Brussels
Agricultural Society, $550 for the
Brussels Horticultural Society, $40
for Huron Centennial Public
School’s graduation ceremony, $300
for the Huron Hurricanes swimming
club, $250 for the Huron Plowmen’s
Association, $7,500 for the Seaforth
Lions Club for operation of the pool,
$750 for the Clinton Lions Club,
$400 for the Maitland Bank
Cemetery, $500 for North Woods
Elementary School, $1,000 for the
Seaforth Agricultural Society,
$2,000 for the Seaforth Santa Claus
Parade, $500 for St. Columban
Soccer, $500 for the United Way
Social Research and Planning
Council and $700 for the Van
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 23