Testy exchanges, walkout as city’s cost-cutting committee begins work

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A proposal to cut two popular community grant programs as a tax-saving measure led to some testy exchanges between councillors and frustration from community groups that weren’t allowed to be part of the debate.

The new working group created by London Mayor Josh Morgan, called the strategic opportunities review working group, tasked with finding cost-cutting and revenue-generating measures to soften the blow of high property taxes, met for the first time Wednesday.

Morgan and city council approved the 2024-27 multi-year budget in late February that calls for an 8.7 per cent tax hike this year, of which more than half is going to London police. The property tax hikes are set at 8.7, 5.7, and 6.7 per cent for 2025, 2026, and 2027 respectively, a city staff report last month said.

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At the heart of Wednesday’s debate was a proposal by deputy mayor Shawn Lewis to pause $750,000 in funding annually from 2025 to 2027 for the city’s capital and innovation community grants and for the neighbourhood decision-making program. Projects submitted by residents that win the most votes in their respective region receive funding in the popular program.

The infighting between councillors broke out even before the proposal came to the table after Lewis put forward a motion not to allow several delegations present at the meeting to speak on the topic, saying the right time for public input was when the proposal was in front of all council.

“I’m actually quite upset,” said Coun. Skylar Franke, who briefly walked out of the meeting after councillors approved Lewis’s motion.

“We literally had a (different) working group meeting . . . on Monday, and we accepted three delegations. Not two days later we are rejecting four delegations . . . I don’t see that as fair and I don’t see it as transparent.

“Those members of council do not seem to care about what people would want to share about how those grants decisions would impact them,” Franke said.

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Former city councillor Maureen Cassidy, who is executive director of the Pillar Nonprofit Network, echoed similar opinions, calling the councillors’ decision “disappointing” and saying council should promote more civic engagement, not less.

“The concept of the neighbourhood decision-making is around citizen engagement and getting, especially kids, involved in that civic participation early,” she said. “So, to have the very first vote of this working group to be limit that civic engagement” is disappointing, Cassidy said.

During the meeting, Lewis criticized both programs Wednesday, saying they lack proper oversight from council and questioned whether some of the approved projects are priorities for the community.

Lewis singled out a project that saw the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario receive about $40,000 to repair a gym floor.

“We have our own community centres that need repairs and upgrades, and we’re handing out grants for an agency with tremendous fundraising ability to replace its gym floor,” he said.

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“So, respectfully, I think there’s some real serious questions that have to be asked about the parameters of these programs, and we should stop handing out money until we’ve had a thorough review of what that looks like.”

Instead of coming to city hall for funding, some of these organizations should be looking at other alternatives, such as fundraising, to come up with the money for those projects, Lewis said.

Those comments led to a heated exchange between Lewis and Franke.

“I think that these groups are fundraising. And I think that they’re looking for funding wherever they can find it,” Franke replied.

“I also think the flippancy in which the suggestion to fundraise for more funding (is made) clearly outlines that members of the committee don’t understand how fundraising works.”

That prompted a rebuttal from Lewis, who asked Franke to apologize and retract her comments.

“To characterize that I don’t understand fundraising is not only an opinion, but it is, frankly, a personal insult,” he said. “Your comments are completely out of line.”

“I will respectfully withdraw (my comment) and apologize to my colleagues,” Franke said. “I was getting a little heated.”

In the end, the working group voted in a not-recorded vote in support of Lewis’s motion.

The recommendation will be debated by city politicians at an upcoming meeting of council’s strategic priorities and policy committee.

jjuha@postmedia.com

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