It’s almost budget season for municipal council, as the first phase begins Jan. 11.
That’s when administration presents the draft budget to council.
It also starts the clock on the limited time members of the public have an opportunity to comment, as well as the political review process.
The Jan. 11 presentation begins at 6 p.m. in council chambers. It, as well as all budget meetings will take place in chambers, and can be viewed live on YourTV, either on the cable channel or on the YouTube channel.
On top of that, community consultations will be broadcast on the municipality’s Facebook Live feed only.
To access the budget, visit www.chatham-kent.ca/localgovernment/budget/Pages/Our-Municipal-Budgets.aspx on opening night or afterwards.
Groups and organizations that wish to request funding must submit a written request by e-mail to ckfps@chatham-kent.ca before noon on Jan. 9.
Groups or organizations wishing to provide comment on the municipal budget can submit a written deputation by email to ckfps@chatham-kent.ca before noon on Jan. 11.
The community consultations, where administration will present the draft budget to the public, will take place Jan. 18 from noon to 1 p.m. and Jan. 19 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. They will take place on the municipality’s Facebook Live, as mentioned.
Those wishing to ask a question are encourage to submit the question prior to the sessions and e-mail the question to ckcommunications@chatham-kent.ca.
Budget deliberations take place Jan. 25, 26 and 31. If the budget is not hashed out by the end of those three days, the finance committee will reconvene Feb. 1 and 2 as necessary.
Written deputations of up to three minutes in length are welcome each evening. Submissions must be made by e-mail to ckfps@chatham-kent.ca before noon each day.
Comments can also be made by phone to 519-360-1998 or by mail to:
Budget & Performance Services, Municipality of Chatham-Kent, 315 King St. W., P.O. Box 640, Chatham, Ontario, N7M 5K8.
