(From L-R) Brighton’s Deputy Mayor Brian Ostrander, councillors Laura Vink and Mary Tadman and Mayor Mark Walas wear orange to commemorate the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, prior to the council meeting on November 7, 2016. (Photo: Quinte News)
Former council calls for more transparency on doctor recruitment
A former Brighton councillor isn’t pleased with how the current council has handled the doctor recruitment issue recently.
Emily Rowley spoke to council last night, questioning why staff was given direction on doctor recruitment matters during closed sessions, instead of open council meetings.
Rowley says that sort of information should be made public and not be approved behind closed doors.
Rowley says with two previous doctor recruits, the terms of their contracts were released to the public before the deals were approved and has asked for that to happen in this case as well.
Council received Rowley’s presentation but took no action moving forward, at this point.
Calendar set for Brighton’s budget deliberations
Brighton Council has a game plan for handling the 2017 budget discussions.
Councillors will see the first draft overview of the financial plan on December 7th, with two budget meetings scheduled in January and another in early February, if needed.
If all goes to plan, the budget bylaw would come to council on February 21st, before education rates come out in mid-march.
Director of Financial Services Linda Widdifield told council the decision has been made to break budget discussions up into shorter, evening sessions, instead of full-day meetings, in an attempt to make it easier for councillors and residents to attend.
Brighton set to hit bargaining table with CUPE workers
It’s time for the Municipality of Brighton to start negotiating with its 40-or-so CUPE-represented workers.
The collective bargaining agreement between the two sides expires at the end of December.
Brighton’s CAO Bill Watson tells Quinte News the negotiations are pretty standard and isn’t expecting too many speed bumps throughout the negotiation process.
There’s no firm timeline for the talks to take place, but Watson says he will be gathering a group of senior staff to set dates for meetings with the union and will update council as the process moves along.
First look at fee changes for 2017
Brighton councillors have gotten a first look at the proposed changes to municipal fees and charges for 2017.
Some of the notable increases include a jump in marriage license fees to $125 from $120, a $25 increase in demolition permits and a $30 jump in building permit fees as well.
There are also a number of other new fees which can be seen on the Brighton Municipal website.
Councillors agreed to have staff look at planning department fees again and possibly increase them, tied to the cost of living, with that report set to come back by the next council meeting on November 21.
A public meeting on the entire fee change schedule will be held on December 5.
Fill bylaw a first for Brighton
The Municipality of Brighton is putting a fill control bylaw in place, to regulate the movement of soil, gravel and other materials around the town.
The town has never had a fill bylaw and most on council agree it’s time to put one in place.
CAO Bill Watson says people moving and dumping large amounts of fill will need permits, at a cost of at least $200.
He adds that too much fill in the wrong areas can cause all types of problems.
Councillor Baker was the only one to vote against the motion, worried it might needlessly affect homeowners, but Watson assured him that people doing every day work around their own property won’t need a permit.
Conversion of street lamps paying off
The Municipality of Brighton is saving a bit of cash, after switching to LED streetlights.
Council approved a plan back in 2014, to convert the town’s nearly 850 street lights to LED bulbs and the results are starting to come in.
Director of Finance Linda Widdifield told council last night the savings from the conversions should add up to about $111,000 annually.
But she says, once you factor in paying back the $500,000 loan to cover the cost of the retrofit, the net savings are actually about $55,500.
