St. Albert city council has voted to reinstate the council sponsorship program after city staff said the program was best administered by council, rather than the chief administrative officer.
Prior to the governing policy being repealed, the council sponsorship program involved each member of council having a $1,000 annual budget to be used to sponsor local charities or events. The mayor's budget was $4,000.
In a recent report to council, the city's director of legal and legislative services Marta Caufield wrote the policy was repealed as part of sweeping changes to the way city grant programs were administered. However, “it became clear that the individual council member sponsorships were not easily able to be absorbed under the new framework.”
Administration proposed to council on Oct. 3 the sponsorship program should be reinstated as a standalone program, and recommended some minor changes to how council could distribute their annual budget.
The reinstatement, and the program changes, were approved on consent, meaning there was no council debate.
The approved changes include the removal of a $250-per-recipient limit, which now allows members of council to give their full $1,000 budget to one group or event, and councillors will no longer need to bring forward a motion to distribute the funding.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said she was comfortable with the changes, adding the $250 limit per recipient felt arbitrary.
“I'm not necessarily going to say I'll give $1,000 (to one charity or event), I like having the opportunity to support more than one organization in St. Albert each year but there may be one where somebody just feels very passionately that they want to help out, and I'm willing to accept that,” Hughes said.
In the past, Hughes said she has used her sponsorship budget towards the St. Albert Housing Society, the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation, the St. Albert Sturgeon Hospice Association, and more.
Coun. Shelley Biermanski said she appreciated having the $250 limit, as it meant the funding was spread out to many different charities.
“It's a small amount, really, but it just gives you a choice of helping the food bank or (other charities),” she said.
For Coun. Mike Killick, the removal of the $250 limit gives council more flexibility for how the funding can be distributed, as some community events require a certain amount of funding for a sponsorship, such as the Sturgeon Hospice's Christmas Tree Light Up event, which requires $1,000 to decorate and light up a tree near Foyer Lacombe on Mission Hill.
“Under the new policy you can give all $1,000 to that one charity if you like, so it actually introduces more flexibility,” Killick said. “If I wanted to just give $1,000 to the Legion and not anything else, I could do that if I knew that the Legion was really, really struggling. But I like to be able, personally, to spread it around a little bit.”
“There are so many good charities in St. Albert to give to,” he said, adding that he has used his sponsorship budget in the past for the St. Albert Royal Canadian Legion, the St. Albert Food Bank, and the Sturgeon Hospice Association.
