Community Services Funding

Previous blogs have noted that the fiscal situation at our Corps has been under a bit of scrutiny over the last year or two.

Honestly, we are not out of the woods. Five out of six months in this financial year we have recorded actual deficits. Two out of the six months (October and December) we had negative bank balances in our default account.

This does not mean that the Corps had no money. We have money still in our investment account, and each of the sections, except the band, also had balances that kept us in the black. The default account is simply our consolidated account for general everyday use.

Iris and I continue to have regular discussions about how we can rectify this situation. Sadly this week we have decided that it is no longer viable for us to make the big cash subsidies to the operations of our community services. We will be redirecting $500 per month back into the Corps default account.

This decision is not easy, and does not come without cost. CSS clientele has increased by 40% this financial year. The government money that we are required to administer has increased (through special programs) by almost 100%. The money that the Corps has been paying has helped pay the wages for those that distribute the funding.

We will be going back to our Division this budget cycle to ensure that we have no more job losses in CSS as a result of this decision. (Late last year we had to end one casual employee's contract). We have also negotiated with the FaHCSIA (the federal department we relate to mostly) for some funds, virtually matching the Corps contribution, to be released to administrative and staff overheads. A great win.

We will continue to keep everyone posted as we further resolve the Corps cash flow situation.