With council looking for cuts in the 2025 tax-supported budget, some council members turned to a citywide fund increase for savings.
Ward 8 Coun. John-Paul Danko suggested dropping the increase in funding to the City Enrichment Fund (CEF) program, for a total of $668,110, or 0.05 per cent of the proposed budget.
In his motion, Danko says the CEF was meant to keep councillors from giving city money to community groups directly, to safeguard against politically motivated donations.
But, Danko said, many councillors continue doling out funds from their ward’s non-property tax revenue funds.
He said the fund supports important community events, like local festivals, charities and food programs, but, “To be honest, there is quite a bit of fluff in the enrichment fund.”
Danko noted funds to the Golden Horseshoe Beekeepers' Association, the FARTS Comedy Show at The Staircase Theatre, or funding to interpretative dance groups.
“The other issue is that councillors in this term have created their own ward enrichment funds, where they select recipients and they select what the recipient criteria is, where they then assign hundreds of thousands of dollars through the area rating discretionary reserve, to their own ward enrichment fund recipients,” Danko said.
He said it is beyond a ward’s capacity to take on financial accountability for money handed out directly to community groups.
Danko questions ward spending on community initiatives
Danko said there is no need for an enrichment fund if councillors hand out funds directly through their offices.
In Ward 15, Coun. Ted McMeekin’s community council often decides and votes on ward spending for local projects, like the Waterdown Museum of Hope, the Flamborough Women’s Resource Centre, migrant worker supports, banners for the Waterdown Legion and the Flamborough the Santa Claus Parade.
These projects are funded by a Non-Tax Revenue account, not from area rating.
“The priorities out in my ward often differ from the priorities of the committee that is entrusted with setting priorities,” McMeekin said.
The average community council grant in Ward 15 is a maximum of $10,000 or less.
“Small groups that could use a bit of seed funding to make an incredible difference in their community… are really, really important.”
McMeekin said his ward often feels detached from the city’s spending and municipal processes.
In Ward 13, Coun. Alex Wilson has residents fill in an application and the councillor’s office decides where to invest the funding.
“Ward offices that have a formal community grants program, with an established rubric, process, application criteria, review, don’t bring in hundred thousand dollar grants,” Wilson said.
Wilson said grants in his ward max out at $5,000.
While other wards exceed the $5,000, Danko’s motion suggested some wards hand out blank cheques with little oversight.
To that, Wilson said, “Nope!” and reminded the council that all spending from ward-specific funds go to the GIC meeting for approval.
And, Wilson said, no money or cheques change hands.
Groups who have funding approved have to give their ward office receipts for their spending, which is reimbursed.
Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann said ending the CEF would not address the issue of wards granting funds through their offices and would end city-wide community programs that are often run by volunteers.
In 2022, council put forward a motion to raise the CEF by eight per cent each year for five years, to meet the needs of the community. CEF money, according to the city, for the most part supports community services and sports and active lifestyle programs.
In Ward 13, Wilson said $7 million in CEF money went into his ward, out of $13 million requested. As a result of that, Meals on Wheels was missing subsidization money for Dundas and areas of Flamborough.
“That’s only going to continue, as demands for funding continue rising across our sectors,” Wilson said.
McMeekin gave his full support to increasing CEF, saying providing funding to community programs is essential.
He raised a separate motion later in the meeting for money from the Flamborough Reserve to be used to offset the cost of CEF for the 2025 budget year. That motion was retracted for further consideration with Wilson and Ward 12 Coun. Craig Cassar. All three councillors are in charge of the Flamborough Reserve and asked for a say in potential spending in other areas of the city.
The motion to stop funding increases to CEF was defeated.
