Mayor Cleveland stirs Budget Pot

John Draper

At the close of the first day of a two day budget session (Dec 12 and 13), Mayor Lucas Cleveland moved two motions that would be major changes to the budget setting process and to tax rates. Lucas is concerned with two things: first, when staff are added partway through the coming year, the budget impact is less than a full year so there is a hit in the following years that is not really considered. To fix this, Lucas wants the full year cost added to the budget and any unused amount transferred to a reserve to be used for future staffing needs. This was the subject of a motion he made which passed.  The second concern was more… Read complete articleMayor Cleveland stirs Budget Pot

Mayor Cleveland Answers Questions

John Draper

Mayor Lucas Cleveland started last night’s Town Hall meeting with a longer than promised review of the last 12 months. The meeting was held in the Gym at the CCC where about 400 chairs had been provided. The room was about half full. Lucas was nearly finished when an audience member interrupted because she wanted to get on with the question period. Lucas said there were 60 online questions – I counted a total of 18 questions were asked/answered including maybe 4 of the online questions. Key points made by Lucas were that: 1) Council needs to start with a strong foundation; 2)  He was elected on a mandate of change yet people do not like change; 3) People want… Read complete articleMayor Cleveland Answers Questions

Transition House moving

John Draper

No, not the building, but the location of the facility – it’s moving from 10 Chapel Street to 310 Division Street. Although announced, not all details are final and County Councillors and Northumberland residents are being asked for their input. The new building was previously Cobourg Retirement Residence but it closed in early 2023 and, in partnership with Transition House, the County has now purchased the property – although price and terms have not been finalized nor made public. The current Transition House building can accommodate a maximum of 22 individuals in four rooms with another 7 accommodated in local motels. Transition house is managed by a board with funding from multiple sources (see their web site in Resources) and is in partnership with… Read complete articleTransition House moving

County Budget 2024

John Draper

At a special Council meeting on December 6, the County Budget for 2024 to 2026 (and longer) will be presented.  Unlike Cobourg’s budget, there is a much greater emphasis on the big picture and less detail – e.g. no department line by line discussion.  The County seems to leave these details to staff and simply focus on increases in the overall levy and debt.  They also look much further into the future – there is budget information up to 2026 and  even a 10 year forecast.  But they do provide most information that residents are likely to want – like what do they do, where does their money come from, what are the significant changes this year and what will… Read complete articleCounty Budget 2024

Cobourg Planning Department Changes

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole Council meeting on 27 November, the planning department asked that they be delegated to make some key decisions – this will help speed up planning activity and make it more efficient. The idea of delegation was suggested in KPMG’s Service Delivery Report from November 2020 plus the organizational review in October 2021 but at this time, only 5 tasks are being requested to be delegated. At the same meeting, they unveiled a new tool that is now in place and will provide the public with information on current planning department activity. The “dashboard” lists 35 current applications dating back to October 2019 – to get details, click on an icon in the map provided… Read complete articleCobourg Planning Department Changes

Service Desk in Victoria Hall Lobby

John Draper

In 2019, it was proposed to move the Concert Hall Box Office to the lobby of Victoria Hall. It would also be a reception desk and function as a Visitor Information Centre. The estimated cost was $40K.  At the time, Council decided to defer the project primarily because of budget considerations. But at the Committee of the Whole meeting on 27 November, 2023, Council approved spending $15K on a “Centralized Customer Services Desk located within the front foyer of Victoria Hall in the current location of the existing Security Desk”. The idea was to have a single point of contact for all Town Departments. Requests and complaints would be input at the desk into a data base so as to give a better understanding… Read complete articleService Desk in Victoria Hall Lobby

RCMP Musical Ride coming to Cobourg again

John Draper

Subject to Council approval (which was provided unanimously), the Musical Ride by the RCMP will be coming to Cobourg on Saturday 22 June, 2024. They were a great success when they last visited Cobourg on the 9th of June 2012 (see photos below).  There will be bleachers set up in Donegan park and the cost is estimated at $20,000 with ticket sales also at $20,000. This is based on an estimated 2000 people attending with a ticket price of $10. The 32 horses would be stabled in the Roseneath fairgrounds – it has not been announced where the riders would be housed – presumably in a hotel in Cobourg.  At the Committee of the Whole meeting on 27 November, Director… Read complete articleRCMP Musical Ride coming to Cobourg again

Budget for 2024

John Draper

At their meeting on 13 November, Cobourg Council accepted the recommendation of the new Treasurer Adam Giddings, to set the target for the 2024 Operating budget increase at 6%. Then assuming a growth in the tax base of 1%, the resulting increase in the levy (the amount we pay) would be 5%.  Adam says that previous increases have not quite kept pace with inflation so there is a small catch up in the 5% figure.  Adam says that the alternative is a reduction in services – he does not discuss improvements in efficiency or productivity. The next steps in the budget process will be provided in the Committee of the Whole meeting on 27 November. There will be two public meetings: 1) to… Read complete articleBudget for 2024