Howaida Sorour
Lots to do on Recreation
At the August 27 Committee of the Whole Carleton KPMG Canada delivered a comprehensive review of the town’s Recreation Service Delivery and Fees, as per a contract with the town. Bruce Peever, partner, Public Sector Advisory with KPMG made the presentation and highlighted 10 recommendations that came out of the review. Among those recommendations was implementing the town’s current Recreation Master Plan; developing business plans for each prioritized recreational offering; create performance indicators to track results and help set policy; update the current organizational charts to streamline operations; centralize and streamline maintenance services and outsource specialized services; digitize the town’s recreational offerings to improve service delivery and the customer experience; reset fees to improve cost recovery; implement a structured approach to collecting feedback so it can be documented and analyzed; and provide specialized training for staff.
Council received the report for information and with the help of staff will begin work on the recommendations in the coming months.
Subsidizing organic waste collection
The town of Carleton Place has entered into an agreement with Just Good Compost (JGC) out of Mississippi Mills for the collection of household kitchen scraps. The annual subscription per household is $275 but Carleton Place residents will only pay $75 with the rest subsidized by the town from the town’s budget and Lanark County Climate Action Grant which together amount to $36,500. This funding envelope will subsidize 486 households in Carleton Place in 2024.
“I’m glad were able to get that through and offer this service to some of our residents,” said Mayor Toby Randell, at the August 27 Council meeting as the by-law was passed.
Fiscally Sound
Carleton Place Treasurer Tris McConkey updated council at the August 27 Committee of the Whole on the town’s financial performance at the end of the first seven months of the year. According to McConkey’s report the town is financially on target with no red flags appearing on expenditures. The fiscal year is 58 percent completed and the town’s expenditures are at 56 percent. While her report shows some significant variances, they have more to do with the time lag between revenue coming in and invoices going out than any over expenditure by departments.
