Tag: budget
‘Manipulation’: Ex-police board chair blasts spending $104K on PR firm
The London police boardâs decision to hire a public-relations firm to help promote its largest-ever budget is âunprecedentedâ and action should be taken so it doesnât happen again, says a former head of the board.
Union backs Queen’s Park audit of Thames Valley school board after retreat scandal
The provincial audit of region’s largest school board in the wake of an executive travel controversy is a welcomed step that can help restore public faith in a critically important institution, one union leader says. Ontarioâs education minister announced a sweeping audit of the Thames Valley District school board executive operations after a three-day retreat […]
Queen’s Park to audit Thames Valley school board amid stadium retreat fallout
The provincial government is launching a sweeping probe of the regionâs largest school board, under fire after The Free Press uncovered a three-day retreat that sent 18 administrators to Toronto’s baseball stadium hotel â costing nearly $40,000. In a forceful statement Friday evening, Education Minister Jill Dunlop announced a comprehensive review of the cash-strapped Thames […]
School board brass should repay some stadium hotel retreat costs: Critic
Critics are blasting an âincredibly disappointingâ move by administrators at the regionâs largest school board to spend nearly $40,000 on a Toronto ballpark hotel retreat, with one taxpayer advocate calling on the staff to pay back part of the expense. Â Following a request from elected trustees, the Thames Valley District school board revealed Thursday […]
London police board spent $104K on PR firm to sell high-spending budget
The London police board paid a prominent public relations firm more than $100,000 to help sell its controversial high-spending budget earlier this year, according to documents obtained by The Free Press. One city councillor called it âdisturbingâ to learn the board used taxpayersâ money to win support from the public and politicians for the $672-million, […]
Grey County getting expert assistance for climate adaptation plan
Grey County will get some outside expertise as it works to put together a plan on how it can prepare for the more frequent and more damaging effects of weather events caused by climate change. On Thursday, county council voted in favour of spending close to $30,000 to purchase a Building Adaptive Resilient Communities membership […]
Citizen calls council limits on speech ‘undemocratic’
Owen Sound city council on Monday finalized its July decision to reduce how long speakers may address council and committees, and to only include items on the agenda that are within council’s jurisdiction. During public question period though, an Owen Sound citizen called those moves “undemocratic.” There were other procedural bylaw changes that council approved, […]
Unexpected funding for upgraded water pipes for RCA apartment complex
The apartment complex proposed for the former RCA lands in the city will benefit from an unanticipated nearly $1.8-million provincial grant from a provincial fund for water system development to get housing built faster. Owen Sound staff applied early this year for about $2.4 million in eligible expenses to the Housing Enabling Water System Fund, […]
Thames Valley school board brass spent $40K on Blue Jays stadium hotel retreat
Administrators with the cash-strapped Thames Valley District school board spent nearly $40,000 on a three-day retreat at the Toronto Blue Jays stadium hotel amid a $7.6-million budget deficit that’s prompted deep cuts, including to funding for kids’ field trips. The exact cost, $38,444.92, was revealed Thursday by trustee Beth Mai, chair of the school board. […]