Council briefs: Municipality adopts new planning fee refund policy

Strathroy-Caradoc has moved to streamline its process for planning fee refunds, approving a new policy during a recent council meeting.

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The policy, aimed at providing clarity and consistency in handling fee refunds for planning applications, mirrors existing guidelines used by the municipality’s committee of adjustment but brings some new features to the table.

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Jennifer Huff, the municipality’s planning director, highlighting the origins of this policy, which date back to a discussion in May of the previous year, in her council report.

“This is a refund policy that’s very similar to the one that’s already in effect with the committee of adjustment,” stated Huff, referring to the structure and approach of the new policy, which outlines specific conditions and percentages of fees returned at various stages of an application process.

The policy allows for administrative ease in managing fee refunds, enabling staff to directly address applicant inquiries about refunds. According to Huff, while fee waivers are not frequently requested, the existence of a structured administrative process helps maintain transparency and efficiency.

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Council discussed the policy’s alignment with practices in other municipalities, a point raised by Coun. Frank Kennes. In response, Huff reassured council of this approach: “Like many other things that we do here, we do canvasses what other municipalities do and try to bring it somewhat aligned to others.”

The discussion concluded with a unanimous vote in favor of the policy. The new policy also mandates an annual report to council summarizing the instances of waived fees, ensuring oversight and evaluation of the policy’s effectiveness.

Tandem truck purchase approved

Council recently approved the purchase of two new tandem trucks for Strathroy-Caradoc’s public works department.

This decision will help modernize the municipality’s aging fleet by replacing trucks from 2012 and 2014, which both exceeded their expected lifespan.

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The meeting, led by Deputy Mayor Mike McGuire, highlighted the importance of maintaining a regular replacement cycle for the public works fleet, which had been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walter Easter, the public works manager, told advisors his department typically aims to replace tandem trucks every 10 years.

“Unfortunately, during COVID, we fell behind on purchasing one per year,” Easter said. “So, with the approval of these two, we will be back on the proper rotation of replacing one tandem per year moving forward.”

Easter also noted the funds earmarked for these vehicles in the 2024 budget were $900,000, while the actual expense for the two trucks came in approximately $50,000 under that allocation at $850,580, plus HST. The trucks will be purchased from Team Truck Centers Ltd., leveraging a co-operative purchasing agreement through Sourcewell Pricing that provides negotiated rates and streamlines the procurement process.

David Gomez is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with the Middlesex Banner. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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