Council requesting additional seat on DNSSAB
Four councillors heading to conference in Toronto to appeal their case.
At this week’s council meeting, Mayor Kathleen Thorne-Rochon shared that she along with three other councillors will be attending the ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipal Association) conference in Toronto next week. The three-day event comes at a cost of $730 per attendee plus the cost of travel, meals and accommodations in downtown Toronto.
In her presentation, Thorne-Rochon noted that one of the goals of this year’s delegation is to have a meeting with the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The purpose of this meeting is to request a second seat on the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (DNSSAB).
This is in light of the recent debates locally regarding the homeless crisis. DNSSAB spends approximately $6M per year on homeless initiatives but only offers services in North Bay.
West Nipissing contributes $3.5M to DNSSAB every year but only has one seat on the board. North Bay on the other hand has 6 councillors on the board.
Mayor Thorne-Rochon stressed this point when announcing that the municipality will be asking to have their fair representation.
“We will speaking with the minister in regards to the board of DNSSAB and we have put in a request to be granted an additional seat on the board of DNSSAB which would be in keeping with both our size and financial contribution to that board.”
In the last few months many West Nipissing residents have pushed council to do more to help the growing homeless population. Council has brushed off these problems as being not in their jurisdiction while shifting the blame on DNSSAB. Constituents will be happy to see West Nipissing finally have a stronger voice on that board.
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