By Mark Squibb/June 17, 2022
When Witless Bay council underwent a complete overhaul in this last year’s municipal election, folks knew that change was coming to the town hall, for better or for worse. Controversy around funding for the Bay Bulls to Bauline Athletic Association (BBBAA), however, was probably not on anybody’s bingo card.
During this week’s meeting, councillor and finance committee chairman Alex Troake brought forward a motion that council deny a request for funding from the BBBAA for a Canada Day Celebration.
According to Troake, the BBBAA had requested $800 each from Bay Bulls and Witless Bay, in addition to their own monies, to host the Canada Day event.
“My concern is, one, I haven’t seen any information on the actual budget other than high-level numbers, and another point of concern is that we’ve approved $37,000 for them, so if we start approving money for each individual event, we’re setting a precedent,” said Troake. “And I guess the most concerning point for me is that we still have not received audited, financial documents. The most recent thing we’ve received is from 2020, so it’s quite old already, and its not audited.”
The $37,000 that Troake referred to is an annual contribution made by the Town as per a signed MOU, which is set to expire this year.
Back in March, council voted to deny a request from the BBBAA to increase that annual donation to $50,000, as had been done by the previous council the year prior.
Troake, at the time, said that he could not support that request as he felt the BBBAA had not made enough effort to raise funds throughout COVID, saying that “while every other business organization in the world has pivoted, the BBBAA chose to sit on their hands.”
Troake raised a number of other objections to increasing the donation amount, including an allegation that the Town has not received the proper audited documents, that the association is too ‘Bay Bulls- centric’ and that the Town increased the donation previously out of an abundance of government COVID funding — funding that was no longer available.
Council was divided on the matter, with councillors Jacob Hayden, Nancy Burke, and Ralph Carey, voting in favour of the increase, and coucillors Gerard Dunne, Alex Troake, Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard, and Mayor Trevor Croft voting against the increase.
The BBBAA’s Scott Penny, meanwhile, argued that any funds raised by the BBBAA go back to the community through recreation and infrastructure projects, and that funding from the towns help cover operating expenses (“We are not going to fundraise to pay salaries,” said Penney.)
As to the audited records, Penney said that the Town has the records on file.
“They need to check they’re filing system,” added Penney.
Flash forward to this week, and Troake said those same concerns still hold water for him.
Councillor Jaycob Hayden argued that, as per the MOU, the money provided through the MOU does not go towards events such as the Canada Day celebration. Troake argued that according to a ratification form in the Town’s possession, money from the Town cannot be put towards operating expenses to begin with.
Hayden said that the detail of the MOU would have to be renegotiated once it expires, but for the time being, money for the event would not be found among the $37,000 that the Town donated.
“The event, which I believe last year was held in Witless Bay, and they usually alternate between Witless Bay and Bay Bulls, is a big event for the town and it’s something to go to, and something for children to go to, and it’s an important event for sure,” said Hayden.
The argument did not sway Troake.
“I’m troubled by the BBBAA board’s actions,” said Troake. “And from what I’ve read in the Irish Loop Post and comments that have been made about me, this has been made personal. But at the end of the day, I just hold the BBBAA to the same standard that I hold any group that is receiving money from taxpayers in Witless Bay. To date, we have not received the information we have requested, so to approve any more money for the BBBAA, I couldn’t do it. And until all my concerns have been rectified, I just could not support any more money being approved for that group.”
Deupty Mayor Lorna Yard sided with Troake.
“It’s a difficult situation because they do good work, and we do want these events for families, and I’m hoping we can find some kind of way forward, because it has been difficult, but that being said, as Chair of Finance I know that Alex has spent a lot of time reviewing records and going through the finances and putting things together, and so for me, I’m going to support our Chair of Finance and his advice,” said Yard. “It doesn’t mean we have to burn everything down with the BBBAA, but I do want to support Alex and his work.”
When it came to a vote, council reached a stalemate. Against the motion to deny the funding were Hayden, Ralph Carey, and Mayor Trevor Croft.
Yard, Troake, and councillor Gerard Dunne voted to deny the funding.
Mayor Croft carried on with the next motion, but Carey brought the conversation back to the BBBAA motion.
“If the motion was defeated, does that mean we will supply the funding, or does that mean we won’t supply the funding?” he asked.
Croft said that as the vote was tied, it was declared a stalemate.
Carey, however, thought the motion, as it was a tie, would be defeated, and Troake concurred.
As to the question of whether the motion passed or didn’t, Croft said they would have to move on with the rest of meeting and have a discussion about the motion at a later date.
‘Well, we can’t delay it too long, because the event is July 1,” said Carey. “So, it won’t be tabled again until our next council meeting, which would be too late for the event.”
Troake noted that if they voted again, the result would be the same, and Croft moved on to the next item.
Absent for the vote was councillor and BBBAA representative Nancy Burke, who has been on a leave of absence for some time.
In fact, council, at last week’s meeting, voted to extend her leave by three additional months.
Burke had, in the past, voted in favour of increasing the BBBAA’s funding from $37,000 to $50,000.
