Even though Oro-Medonte council won’t be doing the heavy lifting on its upcoming budget until early January, the requests for support have already begun.
Seven not-for-profit organizations appeared before township council on Wednesday, some of them armed with a request greater than the last time they visited.
In total, they were seeking about $610,000 in support.
The vast majority of it — about $535,000 — was for environmental organizations that do work in the township: the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA), the Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA) and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA).
While Oro-Medonte Mayor Randy Greenlaw said he's proud of the township’s environmental support, he said there’s only so much the township can do without putting a heavy burden on township residents.
He said the township spends more than $500,000 annually supporting the three organizations.
“We’re looking for ways, as we become more challenged in managing our budgets, to support without just piling on tax increases to our constituents,” Greenlaw said.
Coun. Lori Hutcheson went one step further. She said the environmental organizations have to demonstrate their value and ensure there’s no overlap of services or agency redundancies.
“I do believe our EAs (environmental associations), including the SSEA, do need to do a better job of demonstrating that value and ensure that we’re not feeling like we’re having duplication,” Hutcheson said. “I think, for a number of community members and council members, when we’re coming into difficult budget times, those details are important for us to have in order to make well educated decisions on the money that is entrusted to us by our constituents.
“I would suspect a number of questions will be coming forward,” she added.
Earlier this year, on March 13, all three organizations appeared before Oro-Medonte council to make their requests for 2024 funding.
At that time, the NVCA asked for $246,480, the LSRCA sought $94,394 and the SSEA was looking for $161,181.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, the NVCA requested $279,093 for 2025, the LRCA requested $98,431 and the SSEA asked for $157,076.
The four other requests — Orillia and Lake Country Physician Recruitment, Barrie Area Physician Recruitment, Oro-Medonte Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and Orillia and Lake Country Tourism — totalled $75,000.
Orillia and Lake Country Physician Recruitment sought $1 per person ($23,000), half of what they request from other municipalities that support it because Oro-Medonte supports two physician recruitment programs — one in Orillia and another in Barrie.
The Barrie Area Physician Recruitment made a pitch for $14,500.
The Oro-Medonte Chamber of Commerce requested $15,000 and Orillia and Lake Country Tourism made an ask of $22,500.
Oro-Medonte council will consider the requests as part of its 2025-26 budget.
