County of St. Paul council heard not once, but twice, the request for cash for building repairs from the St. Paul Childcare Society at its meeting on Dec. 13. (For story, see page 23).
Both times, council denied the request and both times council made the right decision.
County council stuck to its guns and kept taxpayers’ interests and the responsibilities of a municipal government in check when it denied the request, twice.
Town of St. Paul Coun. Don Padlesky, who was the sole councillor to stick to his guns and vote against the Town’s decision to pay the Childcare Society $5,000, also deserves a pat on the back for a job well done.
Town council slipped down a slippery slope with the decision to get into funding renovations for the daycare portion of the society’s premise. As the motion funded the request from the 2012 budget, Town council should rescind the motion.
With the Town’s decision to fund capital costs for the dayhome society, every stay at home mom who wants to renovate the playroom or kitchen should also get a slice of Town council’s generous funding pie. The decision opens up council to similar requests from other childcare providers and on the principal of treating people fairly, there would be no reason to deny.
The money comes from $40,000 fund for community groups that council slices and dices as it sees fit to groups that come to council with requests for cash. A community grant fund is not unusual for a municipality, but I have to wonder if it leaves some groups out in the cold that decide to pay their own way instead of putting the burden on the back of the taxpayer.
The idea of giving and donating seems tainted when the donor (the taxpayer) is unaware the donation is being made, is not given credit for the money forked over, and is not consulted before it is given.
Municipalities should pull the purse strings tight and give community groups the freedom and responsibility to reach out the community themselves. Only this way do the many groups requesting money from the Town and County of St. Paul, or any municipality, see if the community sees the request as deserving.
Non-profits, like businesses, should bear the burden of costs related to running their operations. Being designated a non-profit is not a licence to irresponsibility, but after Town council’s decision, every non-profit would be right to think so. A business landlord would never be bailed out, but the society got bailed out after not properly maintaining its premise. Regular maintenance and inspections are the minimum expectation of a landlord.
The County’s decision was right on the money because it respects that the money in its budget comes from somewhere – the taxpayer – and should be used only within its mandate as a municipality.
