The operating agreement between the city and the Invest North Bay board has stirred up some controversy.
The agreement gives the board $140,000 annually, and the approval for this year was voted on, on Monday night. Chair of Community Services Mark King says he was hoping to see an actual budget from the board, and did not get one. Tempers flared when there were accusations demeaning what the board and its volunteers are doing.
Mayor Al McDonald says when it comes down to it the board is doing a good thing for North Bay. He says they are well respected community people who are trying to do their best.
McDonald added they were dragged into a conversation they should not have been dragged into. The whole report was just a basic operating agreement says McDonald, which would allow the board to continue to help grow the city.
King says he asked council to hold off on approving the money until the board could show council a concrete budget. He says the motion was just pushed ahead by certain individuals and he claimed it was the most disappointing meeting in his tenure as a councillor.
He says council is responsible for the tax-payers dollar and they need to know how certain money is going to be spent. King says the operating agreement has no actual dollar figure attached to it and he says council is basically handing over a blank cheque.
King says that money comes out of his committee and he is responsible for it. He says he is disappointed in how this process has unfolded.
King says he was elected to do a job, but his attitude towards certain individuals has changed after this incident.
The mayor says the agreement more closely resembles a lease that has already been agreed upon. He added over the last two years, council has given that board $280,000 ($140,000 annually), and they have spent between $20-$25,000.
McDonald says that went towards implementing the Baylor University survey.
The mayor added the people on the board are there for the betterment of the community. He says they are there on their free time and away from their own business to try and grow business for the city.
McDonald says it becomes concerning when those people are attacked and criticized. He says he wouldn’t be surprised if people decline to join the board if that is how they are treated.
