Region to hear more on $9.6M NPCA budget today
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority will have another opportunity to present its budget for regional council’s consideration.
Regional councillors deferred a motion to receive NPCA’s budget for information at their Nov. 23 meeting, concerned they were given no details about the agency’s finances other than a two-page letter from NPCA chief administrative officer Mark Brickell informing the Region that Niagara taxpayers will be asked to pitch in nearly $7 million of the agency’s $9.6-million budget next year.
Regional councillors will again deal with the agency’s budget at tonight’s budget meeting. Councillors will have an opportunity to discuss the agency’s budget with NPCA management.
NPCA communications specialist Krystle Caputo pointed out the conservation authority is a “direct levying body,” and its boardapproved budget does not require approval from regional council.
Nevertheless, she said NPCA representatives will be at the meeting, “more than happy” to provide councillors with budget information and answer questions.
Although NPCA’s full budget was not provided in the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, Caputo said the document is available on the NPCA website.
“It’s open and available to the public,” she said, adding it can be found at NPCA.ca.
St. Catharines resident and environmental activist Ed Smith is also scheduled to speak during the meeting.
Port Colborne Mayor John Maloney, whose motion successfully deferred acceptance of the NPCA budget on Nov. 23, said budget requests from agencies are normally accompanied by reports on planned spending.
“I think a few more details need to be flushed out for people to consider this,” said Maloney, who is also an NPCA board member.
“I think pertinent that with all that’s going on within the region, we be as open as we can under the circumstances,” he said. “We need to be as open as possible. There’s nothing that needs to be hidden at all. We have to be more than transparent.”
The agency’s levy includes $6,997,546 of funding from Niagara, $1.4 million from Hamilton, and $114,643 from Haldimand.