By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo SPCA funding request spurs councillors to re-examine annual grants

Dec 14, 2018 | 4:37 PM

NANAIMO — A funding request from the Nanaimo SPCA could have long-term repercussions about how the City funds annual grants.

The Nanaimo SPCA’s executive director Leon Davis asked councillors for $25,000 over two years for the low-income spay neuter program. The City has funded the program for the last 15 years and helped bring down the number of feral cats in Nanaimo.

Discussion among councillors quickly shifted away from the program, which they all supported, to talk about how they support it.

Coun. Sheryl Armstrong pushed for program funding to be added as a line-item to the budget, which would remove the need for the Nanaimo SPCA to return to council every two years.

“Every year we get the same people coming forward and, I wouldn’t say it’s a waste of time, but I think when it’s something we think is probably going to happen and is a good thing for the community, it should be built right into the budget.”

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Acting director of finance Laura Mercer told confirmed for councillors adding the SPCA funding as a line-item was previously discussed but never implemented by the previous administration.

Coun. Don Bonner indicated there are numerous annual grants given out when he would like to see as line items in a budget.

Funding for the spay neuter program previously came from council’s contingency fund.

The 2018 contingency fund was depleted in August, when the remaining $65,000 was used to float the proposed Ocean Discovery Centre on Nanaimo’s waterfront.

Interim CAO-Jake Rudolph expressed concern and said it was “odd” the contingency fund was strategically used and relied upon for anticipated funding requests, such as the spay neuter program.

He said a report adding looking at adding the Nanaimo SPCA’s request to the annual budget could be created quickly, while another report looking at all annual funding requests would take longer but was still with merit.

A motion asking staff to look into the issue passed unanimously.

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