Town councillor Patrick Wilson believes the town needs to consider revising the perimeters of how community grants and civic partnerships are awarded and announced he will be bringing forward a motion at a future council meeting.

Last night, Wilson discussed a basic framework of what he hopes council will agree to debate.

He wants to see a discussion on revising the Civic Partnerships, Community Grants and Arts and Culture Endowment Fund to allow for alternative funding arrangements by increasing the community grant dollar matching ceiling. This would see all grants limited to up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total cost.

He also wants to expand the perimeters for those seeking community partnership fund recipients to show they are pursuing private donations and corporate sponsorship, completing community fundraising and collaborating with other organizations. This, he believes, will showcase their efforts and commitment to their sustainability.

“It’s something I think that hasn’t been changed in a long time and I think its a way of encouraging fundraising, sponsorship and corporate sponsorship.”

"This could be a way to not only make sure we fund the groups better but make sure there’s less of a tax burden and more fundraising involved.”

He also questions if councillors should be in the position to choose whether one group is more important to the community than another. He rather a comprehensive policy decide.

Should council agree to discuss the possibilities, he says it may be a bit eleventh hour and challenging to incorporate in time for the 2019 budget, but not impossible.