City council holds off adopting funding policy
Feedback suggests some anxiety over new community assistance policy, writes Aaron Leaman.
Mounting concerns over how Hamilton City Council will divvy up its community grants has seen elected members hold off endorsing its new community assistance policy.
Councillors were to adopt the revised policy and grant criteria last week which sets out guidelines for single year and multi-year grants.
The funding pool of $1.16 million is proposed to be split between single year grants ($260,000) and multi-year grants ($900,000).
Previously the council had three funding grants: arts and culture, community event sponsorship, and small grants.
Councillor Angela O’Leary, speaking at the council’s strategy and policy committee meeting, asked staff to give an assurance the proposed policy and guidelines would fairly distribute funds to applicants.
‘‘There may be an environmental project competing against Mamma Mia or something. Are you 100 per cent confident that the new policy will manage that fairly and equitably?’’ O’Leary asked.
Deanne McManus-Emery, council’s community development and leisure manager, said she had confidence the policy and guidelines would produce fair results.
‘‘What I will say is with contestable funding, there will be winners and losers and that is the nature of the beast of what we are looking at. Ideally we’d like to fund everyone,’’ McManus-Emery said.
Mayor Julie Hardaker said under the old funding regime there was seen to be an inequality across sectors when it came to accessing funding.
However, Hardaker said the wording of the new community assistance policy needed refining and asked for the document to be brought back to the council’s strategy and policy committee meeting in April.
‘‘It’s a sensitive area because there’s contestability and the public is looking for guidance and the sectors are looking for guidance,’’ she said.
‘‘I think many of the councillors have had communication already about nervousness about how we are approaching this. I do know some of the arts community and other communities have been giving feedback about nervousness around what it all means.’’
Hamilton Men’s Shed members, from left, Kaillas Prasad, Dave Costar, Ces Oldham, Neil Bruce (shed trust chairman), John Smith and Bruce Mather are looking for a new home.