Kincardine Council has removed a controversial 125 thousand dollar organizational review of municipal staff and council from this year’s budget.
Councillor Marsha Leggett had been pushing for the review for two months out of concern about how staff and council communicate and operate.
She believes the review is needed now that ten years have passed since amalgamation.
Deputy Mayor Laura Haight says she’s still not clear what the review is supposed to do.
Leggett says she has nothing against municipal management but says the municipality and it’s council are not perfect.
Councillor Kenneth Craig says a review would be a healthy exercise but isn’t sure 125 thousand dollars needs to be spent on a consultant to do it.
He suggests any issues be discussed at a Corporate Services Committee meeting, in open or closed session.
Councillor Ron Hewitt agrees.
Mayor Larry Kraemer, a foe of the review since it was first suggested, says 125 thousand dollars is a lot of money to budget without full specifics on what exactly would happen in the review process.
He says anybody can say there are problems, but council has to be convinced about what they are. He says it’s council’s job to make decisions about problems in the municipality.
Leggett says her efforts were worth a try, and that only one person she spoke with, aside from the Mayor, was against the idea.
She says she’s not disappointed it was turned down, but is skeptical about her concerns being addressed any other way.