WESTLOCK – Westlock County councillors will get an in-person explanation from Westlock Family and Community Supports Services (FCSS) as to why they’re seeking an additional $30K in funding this year and what it’ll be used for, $17,211 of which is slated to come from county coffers.
After 30-plus minutes of debate at their March 28 meeting, councillors voted 6-0 (deputy reeve Ray Marquette was absent) to invite FCSS executive director Tracy Proulx to the April 11 meeting to explain the request — the 2023 FCSS budget was discussed at the March 15 tri-council meeting that included councillors and administration from the county, Town of Westlock and Village of Clyde. The new budget calls for a $30,000-funding increase from the three that would see the county chip in $17,211, the town ante up $11,703 and the village on the hook for $1,086. The request for decision to council March 28 recommended approving the extra funding, while noting a motion at the tri-council meeting was for the request to return to respective councils for review and decision.
Coun. Stuart Fox-Robinson, who along with the rest of councillors made it clear they appreciate the work that FCSS does, was the most vocal in seeking an explanation, noting the $14,000 (split $6,750 between the town and county, while the village chipped in $500) they provided to FCSS in November to hire an after-hours “emergency intervention services” contractor for the winter to help the community’s homeless. He said while he understands that was a separate initiative and that there’s been continued downloading by the province onto FCSS across the board, “we seem to be a very large piggy bank that people keep coming back to.”
“FCSS does great work and I don’t think there’s anyone here that will argue against that. But I want to address the request for decision because there’s nothing in here that tells me what our contribution is going towards and why they need the increase,” said Fox-Robinson. “I cannot make a decision to vote to spend money on something where I don’t know where it’s going.”
CAO Tony Kulbisky noted that while the proposed FCSS budget and its upcoming programming changes weren’t included in the agenda package, it had been provided to councillors at the tri-council meeting “and clearly showed what the new offerings would be.” For April 11, Kulbisky said they’ll have Proulx attend and present the organization’s plans “and we can have a confirmed number as to what our actual percentage actually is so you have all the right information.”
“Tri-council does not make decisions for this municipality, this council makes decisions for this municipality for the benefit of this municipality. The FCSS presentation given at tri-council wasn’t actually given by FCSS from my understanding. I’ve seen the slides that were provided by FCSS and I have other concerns in that area,” Fox-Robinson continued. “But we’re being asked to commit $17,211 and I have no explanation as to why. I just need to understand where the money is going to. And I’m not saying that we’re not going to fund it.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable request for this municipality to have a representative of FCSS present to this council … I don’t that’s unreasonable at all considering the level of funding we’re putting into this.”
FCSS doing work for Alberta Supports
Reeve Christine Wiese noted that while the province has agreed to spend more on FCSS this year “which is good” she agreed that they previously approved the local FCSS budget in the fall and would like to know a “hard number of where we’re at” in relation to the new funding — Coun. Sherri Provencal, who sits on the local FCSS board, said while an amount from the province was released at RMA, how much will end up in Westlock remains unclear.
And while the mandate of FCSS is to provide preventative programming, Provencal said this year there are additional dollars available to FCSS if they take on additional programs beyond that mandate — the province funds 80 per cent of FCSS, while municipalities are on the hook for the remaining 20 per cent.
Wiese also commended FCSS for the work they do, especially in relation to Alberta Supports and the fact that the local office remains closed to in-person traffic, which in turn puts more stress on FCSS. She said she recently called Alberta Supports and provided a hypothetical scenario of a family losing their home in a fire and were told, in essence, that they would have to fill out an online form or would have call a separate number.
“I told them in this example, they’re literally standing there with nothing and what was their plan to help these people and they went silent. So, I understand that FCSS is taking this on and is it right? No,” said Wiese, who added they need to continue to put pressure on the provincial government regarding the failings of Alberta Supports.
“I commend FCSS. The program at Alberta Works (Supports) is beyond flawed. It’s terrible. And the money that’s been shifted to go to the government program should actually be moved on to FCSS because they’re taking on way more.”
Overfunding
During debate, Kulbisky noted in his job as CAO of the Town of Devon they, along with many across the province, regularly “overcontributed” to FCSS because the “provincial funding has not kept up pace will all the offerings that FCSS is providing because there’s definitely a need at the community level.” Coun. Jared Stitsen noted that traditionally the county has only funded FCSS to the 20 per cent bar, while the town has in the past gone over and above “on needs for certain things” noting the community bus is one of them.
“At my previous municipally we were contributing close to 40 per cent towards the budget because the need was there,” said Kulbisky.
Following adoption of its 2023 operating budget in mid-March, Town of Westlock Simone Wiley confirmed the province had recently announced an additional $5 million for FCSS but what that meant locally remained unknown and “with that in mind the town has budgeted for an over contribution of up to $30,000.” At the town’s March 13 meeting, Coun. Murtaza Jamaly, who’s president of the Family and Community Support Services Association of Alberta (FCSSAA) and chairs the Westlock and District FCSS advisory board, lauded the additional funding within the town’s budget for “FCSS 2.0.”
“ … there’ll be some program changes, but also some new programming will be added to address what the social needs assessment contemplated. FCSS 2.0 will require more funding and I applaud council for responding to that call with an overcontribution beyond the legislated amount,” he said March 13.
