Greater Sudbury is looking at changing the way it gives money to dozens of local social services groups, a process that hasn't changed since amalgamation 16 years ago.
In March, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh moved a motion to have the more than $735,000 spent each year on the groups subject to a value for money audit to determine whether the money was providing value.
The grants range from a high of $100,000 given to the Social Planning Council each year, to $1,500 for the Onaping Falls Lions Club's annual Cavalcade of Colours.
The audit of the grants was supposed to be ready in September, but a report received by the finance committee Tuesday said the audit wouldn't be ready until April.
“I've been asking questions about these community grants since March 2015, and I'm concerned there's a lack of transparency and accountability for these dollars,” McIntosh said. “It's close to three-quarters of a million dollars annually.”
She said the funds are approved by council each year, but there's no application process and no requirement for reporting back on what the money is used for.
McIntosh wanted the audit in September so councillors could reform the process. She wanted detailed criteria on who is eligible and the application process for getting grants.
“But we did not get either in this report,” McIntosh said. “This report doesn't contain any new information, yet it took eight months to prepare … I think it's clear that I'm not happy with this report.”
Catherine Matheson, who returned to her post as GM of community development in September, agreed that her department didn't get the work done on time.
She suggested they could accelerate the audit and have it done by January with the help of Auditor General Ron Foster.
“We also share (McIntosh's) concerns about ensuring the money is well spent,” Matheson said. “We'll advance the process as quickly as we can and get that to you sooner than later.”
“January 2017 is fine with me, if it's fine with the rest of council,” McIntosh replied.
Mayor Brian Bigger said he wanted the audit to include information on the total amount groups get from the city, since some of the groups are eligible for other programs. That way, they can get a better idea of how much each group is getting.
“We need to ensure it is open and transparent and fair, and that the rules are clear for everybody,” Bigger said.
While the grants are normally approved during budget time, Matheson said some groups won't be affected by a delay in the application process of one or two months. She said many of the grants were in place before amalgamation and have just continued since then.
“Once those grants were put in place, post-amalgamation, they continued without any scrutiny, I guess, with respect to any of those grants,” she said. “This is the first time that a council has directed a review of those, and how they're being utilized and whether they should be continued.”
Bigger said that was exactly why the audit is necessary.
“Some of these groups have been getting, say, $12,000 a year for 16 years. Does the group even exist any more? Maybe it was 60 people (in the group) and now it's five,” Bigger said. “We don't want to stop these groups from getting money, but we want to ensure it's fair and open.”
“There are many seniors groups on this list, and there are many seniors groups not on this list. Is that because they are not aware of the funds that might be available to them from council?”
In the end, councillors voted to delay issuing the grants until the January report, when grant criteria and application process is approved. However, groups that rely on funding early in the year may be able to get partial funding until the process is complete.
