Change of heart
Summerside will again allow outside groups to apply for community funding
Not-for-profit groups based outside the City of Summerside will be allowed to apply for community support funding from the municipality — again.
The change in policy comes as city council voted during its regular monthly meeting Monday night to add four new sections to its existing Community Support Policy.
One of those additions states while it is preferred for groups seeking funding under the program to be based in Summerside, those based outside the community will be allowed to receive funding if they can demonstrate that their work/project will have a direct benefit to the community.
This is a reversal of a policy that was introduced just last year when the revamped Community Support Policy was introduced. At that time, some councillors said they were reluctant to allow outside groups, regardless of circumstances, to get community funding because they felt those dollars should go to groups operating from within the city.
Despite that earlier reluctance, all present members of council voted in favour of the change. The only two councillors not present were Frank Costa and Tyler Desroches.
“Council recognized that there is significant value, from some of those applications, for residents of the city,” said Coun. Brian McFeely, chairman of the governance, policy and strategy committee, which reviewed and prepared the Community Support Policy and these latest additions, adding council changed its mind upon further review of the policy.
Another addition to the Community Support Policy included a category system for user groups in the city. The system will specify what groups, depending on their category, are eligible for different kinds of services.
The final two additions to the policy included strict application deadlines and a commitment to work with user groups to introduce a capital improvement fund fee for the city’s turf sports field.
There was also one Community Support Policy-related resolution passed at the council meeting.
The city had previously announced its intention to move Harbourfront Theatre and the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada out of the community support program. Both organizations are long-standing institutions in the community, and council felt their funding arrangements should be moved into more long-term, multi-year, agreements, rather than applying for grants annually.
The city will now move to draft such agreements with both institutions.