ELORA – Centre Wellington has received an additional $850,197 in gas tax funding that will be included in the 2020 budget process.
The federal government recently topped up the federal gas tax fund with $2.2 billion. Centre Wellington’s portion is $850,000, explained Dan Wilson, managing director of corporate services/treasurer.
“Overall this is really good news, it provides money we never knew we were going to have until the budget process,” Mayor Kelly Linton said.
The township has already received $855,000 for 2019 and will receive another $855,000 for 2020 meaning there will be a total of $1.7 million in gas tax funding available for spending in 2020.
The $850,000 has been put in the gas tax reserve fund, Wilson confirmed.
“So put it in a safe place and then have discussions about it with council during the budget process,” Linton said.
Councillor Steven VanLeeuwen agreed that it was good news.
“I look forward to actually planning to use it in the appropriate spots,” he said.
However, instead of waiting for the 2020 budget process councillor Stephen Kitras moved that the funds should be used for the issues delegations brought to council in the last budget process, included bridges in Ward 2 and 1 and paving the First Line.
“When people come as a delegation they don’t always expect that something will be done, but if they continuously come as delegations, and some of them have come for multiple years, there is a whole thing that we are engaging with and that their efforts or concerns be considered,” Kitras said.
“I think that the message that we should be sending is that coming as a delegation is a useful and a good process where they can be heard.
“And I think that it’s a win-win where we can say that we are considering these projects.”
VanLeeuwen said delegations from the past should also be considered if council is considering delegations from 2019.
“There’s been a lot of delegations in the past, they’ve been at the table a long time so if we’re going to go that process I think we should be very careful,” he said. “I think we should deal with it at budget time.”
Councillors Neil Dunsmore and Ian MacRae agree with VanLeeuwen.
“That’s the way we always do it,” Linton said.
“Everything is up for discussion so that includes projects that we had delegations on, it includes all the projects from the previous 10 years of delegations as well as anything else we have in our asset management plan.
“So that’s all part of the budget process.”
Kitras’ motion was defeated and the recommendation to move the $850,197 to gas tax reserves was passed unanimously.
