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6 - Orono Weekly Times Wednesday, September 2, 2009 BUDGET Continued from front page $875,000 shortfall in the developments charges account for this year. Council and staff had been tracking the budget since April, through monthly reports. In July, Council authorized Wu to take immediate actions related to staffing in order to balance the budget. He was also directed to report to council before the end of August with other cost cutting measures. One of the recommendations in Wu's report was to turn the Clarington Animal Shelter into an Animal Pound so animals can be euthanized. This could save the munici- pality $8,000 in the next four months. According to Municipal Clerk, Patti Barrie, the Animal Shelter is at capacity, and there is a waiting list for people to drop cats off and to bring in found animals. "If we change to a pound, we will be able to accommodate people on the waiting list," Barrie said at Monday's meeting. Council opted not to proceed with this recommendation. "It is a fundamental shift as to what happens at the shelter," stated Councillor Adrian Foster. He said he could not imagine what would go through the minds of shelter staff who work as nurturers if they were to be turned into euthanizers. Another recommendation by Wu was to close the Clarington Tourism Office on Liberty Street South from October to December of this year, for a savings of $4,000. Councillor Ron Hooper was "The bells and whistles will be gone," -- Joe Caruana, Community Services Director against that move and stated, "In my opinion we need tourism. How can we promote tourism if the office is closed?" The recommendation to close the office did pass, however the Clarington Board of Trade, who operate out of the Tourism Office, will be asked if they are willing to provide tourism services for the remainder of this year. Wu warned councillors that running the tourism office is not part of the Board of Trade's mandate. Savings of $20,000 will be made through the elimination of weekend call outs for snow plowing. Operations Department spokesperson Larry Postil explained that minimum standards would be maintained at all times, roads would be made passible, but clean up from a weekend snow fall will be done on Monday. "It's not that we won't plow at all," Mayor Jim Abernethy said. "Roads will be opened, but snow won't be pushed back to the ditches until after the weekend." A savings of $30,000 is being made through the long term absence of the Director of Operations; Fred Horvath who is on sick leave. Frank Wu has taken on the responsibilities of the Director of Operations in the interim. The end-of-the-year Staff Appreciation program, which had a price tag of $25,000, has been cancelled. Wu said for $3,000 employees with a long term service record could be recognized at a council meeting, the $3,000 would be the price for the gifts. Many councillors felt it was important for staff morale to continue with the recognition program. The annual Clarington Sports Hall of Fame banquet has been scaled down, saving $5,000. "The bells and whistles will be gone," Community Services Director, Joe Caruana said. "The pomp and circumstance will not be there, but it will still be a respectable event for inductees," he stated. Operating hours at a number of recreation facilities will be reduced, including at the new indoor pool facility in Newcastle. Staff overtime assisting in special events such as the Orono Chili Cook-off and Bowmanville's Apple fest has been eliminated. Staff will still assist in these events; they just won't be doing it on the weekend, according to Postil. On the staffing side, five part-time employees received termination notices. Three full-time staff received temporary lay-off notices. Council directed Wu to meet with local union president to discuss what assistance the union could provide the municipality in its cost-cutting exercise. Wu told councillors that he did not speak with the local CUPE president because he did not receive a mandate from council to do so. The eight employees served with notices will be permitted to continue to work until after Wu meets with the union. The two firefighter positions council committed to BUDGET see page 10