Barrie City Council Strips Library's Financial Independence Without Notice; Police and County Enjoy Exemption

Last week, the Barrie City Council introduced another important motion without prior notice. The motion, put forward by Ward 6 Councillor Nigussie Nigussie, will strip the library of its independence by requiring it to seek approval from the City Council for any future capital reserve spending.

“The purpose of this motion is to ask service partners, specifically our library to seek approval from City Council for a capital reserve spending moving forward,” Nigussie told the council while presenting the motion, which was seconded by Gary Harvey, councillor for Ward 7.

Although Nigussie emphasized accountability and responsible governance from all service partners, the Barrie Police Service, with an annual budget of more than $60 million, will continue to spend money freely. In contrast, the library has an annual budget of less than $10 million.

Ward 4 Councillor Amy Courser asked why the motion was brought forward as a motion without notice, questioning whether there was any urgency, given that the new library has just hired a new accountant who has barely started. “I feel that this should be deferred to go through proper channels, traditional channels in the fall,” she said.

The amendment to defer the motion was defeated, with only Ann-Marie Kungl, Ward 3 councillor, supporting it.

Even though there are no current capital projects undertaken by the library at this time, Nigussie and Mayor Nuttall did not clarify why there was a need for a motion without involving the library and Barrie residents.

Only Councillors Ann-Marie Kungl and Amy Courser voted against the emergency motion, while the other councillors, including Mayor Alex Nuttall, voted yes.