Schreiber Council Tackles Increasing Costs

Schreiber council met for a special meeting to finalize unfinished business ahead of the Christmas function. The first item up was to confirm the attendance for the upcoming AMO training sessions and the dates for attendance. The grant awarded for Heritage Days 2023 was approved. 
A grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation would go towards the replacement costs of the decommissioned broiler in the municipal centre that provides heating for the building. 
Transfer funds to and from the various departments were approved and accepted after a discussion about how the funds are used.
Treasurer Marlene Bottomley provided an explanation of how the surplus revenue gets redirected to the various departments and why. (There have been more informative discussions taking place with the new council and changes to the meeting format.)
The LNG project is still seeking approval pending finalized contracts with the various shareholders. Liquid gas will be replaced by compressed gas in the final stages and talks will resume to discuss the roles of each municipalities.
A discussion took place when the Treasurer Report was presented. Councillor Bourgeault questioned the rationale for the increase in water and sewage costs and rejected the idea that increases were necessary. She also mentioned that council should be concerned with cost increases and the effect this has on seniors especially. With the aging infrastructure, it is inevitable that money will have to be found to offset future upgrades and that means increases will be inevitable. 
Director of Operations report prompted a discussion about the new contract for propane for heating for the next 36 months. The new contract will see a reduction in the price of fuel over the next 2 years with the final year to be determined. Previously a one year contract seemed the better choice as the LNG project could be ready in time to switch to gas when it is available.
The meeting was then adjourned.