BARRHEAD - The Barrhead and District Family Community Services (FCSS) will receive a slight increase in the municipal portion of their 2024 operational budget.
County of Barrhead councillors approved the not-for-profit society's $648,462 base operational budget with a county contribution of $77,149, including it in the municipality's 2024 interim operating budget during their Nov. 21 meeting.
Town of Barrhead councillors approved their contribution ($77,169) on Nov. 14.
FCSS executive director Karen Gariepy said the increase to the municipal portion would go towards funding a two per cent cost of living adjustment (COLA) for all staff.
However, she noted that the COLA increase wasn't the only reason why FCSS staffing costs are increasing in the 2024 budget.
"Instead of having several part-time individuals, I've hired people in full-time positions," Gariepy said. "By doing this, we can provide more continuity and, as such, better service for our clients."
In addition to the municipal funding, she added that the FCSS also receives a provincial base operating grant, which increased slightly over previous years, going from $315,423 to $329,614.
Gariepy added that creating this 2024 was incredibly challenging due to inflationary pressures and new expenses they had never had to account for.
She said this budget was the first time FCSS included information technology (IT) as a line item.
In the past, staff dealt with IT issues as a matter of their regular duties.
"It was just getting to be too much. IT equipment is getting so complex, so we needed to find someone to do it for us," Gariepy said, adding that FCSS is using the same vendor as the town and county do for its equipment.
She added that they decided to do much more of a "deep dive" with the 2024 budget, adding more categories to understand better where their funds are going.
For instance, Gariepy said they've added a specific food category, where in the past, the food costs would have been part of the program's budget, which provided the food.
It is worth mentioning that the budget FCSS presented to the municipal councils is the traditional 80/20 base programming funding that it shares with the province, which provides the larger amount. The province restricts the use of these funds to FCSS' base-preventative programming.
However, Barrhead's FCSS is one of about a handful that differs from the traditional model, where it is operated under a municipal umbrella. Instead, it is a not-for-profit, charitable society, allowing the organization to provide additional programming from self-raised funds.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
