A Ward 6 councillor wants to give citizens more of a say when it comes to giving local organizations grants.
Karen Kirkwood-Whyte says she wants to create a new committee.
“Because our new mayor and council are so focused on civic engagement and involving more citizens in the process,” Kirkwood-Whyte explains, “I’m proposing more citizens be engaged in citizen review of the applications that are coming forward.”
Kirkwood-Whyte is looking specifically at the Community Partnership Fund, which gives money to organizations to plan events and programming in Chatham-Kent.
Ideally, she’d like to see long-time community volunteers and leaders with a spot on the committee, along with some municipal staff.
Kirkwood-Whyte plans to raise the issue at the next council meeting.