Alexander Leach, Editor
WHITEWATER REGION – The Special Council Meeting for December 9th began at 4:45 pm, broadcast live by Youtube.
The meeting did not take place in the Council Chambers, but rather by a Zoom call.
It was a public meeting, containing a presentation from residents of Olmstead-Jeffrey Lake road regarding the state of their road and work to be done on it.
There were no Declarations of Interest from the councillors.
The Township of Whitewater Region Council then reviewed the 2021 Draft Budget, presented by Sean Crozier.
“We’ve had four previous meetings, next week we’re adopting the bylaw.” Crozier said. “There was a bit of a break on October 28, but it’s been a sprint since.”
Notable was the 2.5 percent tax levy, which he said was for “improving infrastructure”.
He said the levy covers “capital that does not come from grants”, meaning projects not covered by other sources like grants.
“The Township of Whitewater region doesn’t keep every penny of tax dollars collected.” he said, explaining the division.
“Covid 19 has really shaken how things are done, it’s really change the landscape of the economy.”
The budget has been covered in depth in previous meetings.
He said the increase would allow for $70,000 over last year for capital projects, as well as six summer students.
He also said that despite the pandemic, there weren’t tremendous losses or setbacks.
“There really isn’t a drastic change. It’s almost the same kind of picture we had one year ago.”
He said by-law adoption was scheduled for December 16th, and setting tax rates and determining if additional contributions from reserves are required in May.
There were no questions from the councillors.
