By Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle
Oliver town council has approved the allocation of $136,249 in COVID-19 restart funding for several projects.
In a report to council on Aug. 8, Chief Financial Officer Wayne Anderson said the money will benefit corporate services, public works, firefighting, finance, and the airport.
“We are spending the funding to ensure the safety of our first responders and the security of our staff when working in reduced numbers,” Anderson said.
In addition, the funds will enhance technology by allowing more productive work from remote locations.
In 2020, the Town received $1.5 million in funding from the province as part of a COVID “safe restart” grant to help local governments deal with increased operating costs and lower revenue during the pandemic.
In 2020 the Town spent $636,000 on various COVID-related services, and another $447,000 in 2021.
The fund currently sits at $372,000.
Anderson said the $136,000 will go towards airport cameras, turnout gear for firefighters, new ice making machine for rehab chairs (for emergency response personnel), and technological enhancements.
The most expensive item is records management assistance for $70,000. Chief Administrative Officer Ed Chow said they are missing manpower to convert data into a new system, so they need to hire a dedicated person to do that.
Anderson said the intent is to utilize the remaining $236,000 funding for additional requests in 2022 or on projects identified during the upcoming budget process.
“Our goal would be to deplete the fund by the end of 2023,” he said.
