Amherstburg's budget talks are being pushed back to next week after some concern over councillor availability and public input were raised.
A 4-3 vote rescheduled three days of meetings to begin on November 30 instead of today as regularly planned.
Mayor Aldo DiCarlo didn't feel the budget needed to be delayed to add an extra public input session set for Saturday at the Libro Centre.
"We've had eight weeks since the initial notice went out. Four weeks since we got the budget detailed," says DiCarlo. "Each budget meeting will allow the public to comment as we normally do at our meetings."
DiCarlo along with Deputy Mayor Bart DiPasquale and Councillor Leo Meloche voted against delaying budget talks while Councillors Rick Fryer, Diane Pouget, Jason Lavigne and Joan Courtney voted in favour of pushing back the dates.
The mayor feels the budget process is being needlessly delayed.
"I don't think it bodes well for council to have gone this long before raising a concern," says DiCarlo. "I just didn't think the concerns raised were validated by the process."
In addition to concerns regarding public input, there were worries over council attendance at the budget meetings. However, DiCarlo says the budget meetings of November 24 to November 26 were scheduled with six of seven council members confirmed to be in attendance.
"For those that remember last time [2015 budget talks] there was a bit of an outcry when meetings were scheduled without the mayor. Last time they did proceed with six (councillors in attendance) — one of them being the mayor that wasn't there, so I didn't understand what the issue was this time," says DiCarlo.
The mayor says the revised dates could make it more difficult to pass the budget before the end of the year as expected.
