Council for the Municipality of South Bruce hopes that funds from missing out on the deep geological repository can benefit the community for generations to come.
At this week's meeting, members heard from ONE Investment staff on the different options available to establish its Legacy Fund.
Mayor Mark Goetz said not being selected by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization means the town missed out on a lot of funding, but with a total of $8 million provided for taking part in the process, they can stretch that money out for a while.
"The $418 million was the amount South Bruce was to receive if we got the project," he said. "Now what we're looking at is how do we grow that $8 million into more? The only way is to lock it away, invest it, and then live off the interest and use that to fund projects in the community or offset tax increases."
Goetz said if they don't know what return to expect in a given year, but had they invested in 2024, it would have earned been between eight and nine per cent.
The draft policy provided to council suggested annual income distributions of around three per cent ($240,000), depending on how the fund performs.
The Mayor acknowledged that there may be a desire to use that money right away.
"The thing we have to discipline ourselves about, and it's easy when somebody hears a figure like $8 million, they think of all the nice-to-have things and everybody has ideas on what to purchase," he said. "But if you spend the $8 million, that's it, it's over."
He also noted that new purchases come with new upkeep and eventually replacement costs.
The Investment Legacy Fund policy will outline that funds can't be taken out that would cause the number to dip below the principle investment. Goetz hopes that future councils also resist the urge to touch it.
"Our goal here is try and set up future councils for success, but that's entirely up to them at the time if they get themselves into a situation and want to dip into that fund," he said. "A lot of times you get into a big infrastructure project, you can borrow money cheaper than the interest you're getting on the investment."
While the investment will give council another funding stream outside of taxation, Goetz acknowledged there was some annoyance with how the NWMO reached its decision before Saugeen First Nation determined its willingness to host.
"I'm a little frustrated that they didn't allow SON the same opportunity or the same time to make their decision as they did the communities in the north," he said. "The Indigenous community in the north seemed to have about six months to make their decision, and from the time council of South Bruce passed the by-law, it was about two weeks later."
The NWMO had previously stated it wanted to determine a host by the end of 2024, and announced it was going with Ignace on November 28.