FCSS funding recommendations approved by council

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Over $104,000 in funding recommendations made by the Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) advisory board was approved by the Town of Strathmore during the Jan. 21 meeting.

Grant programs to receive support include 5 for Life Early Childhood, Accredited Supports to the Community, Growing Families – Bridging the Gap, Hope Bridges Society, STAND ASA, the Strathmore Library, Golden Hills School Division, and Christ the Redeemer schools. 

“There (is) some urgency around awarding these funds as several organizations that we do fund have started their programs in January,” said Budd Brazier, community and social development manager.

It was noted in Brazier’s report that during the FCSS advisory board meeting in December, quorum was not met due to a resignation shortly prior to the meeting, which did not allow for a replacement to be found in time.

Should the meeting have not occurred as dictated by regular procedure, funding recommendations would have been delayed until February or March, well after regular programming was supposed to be initiated by several recipient organizations.

“I am comfortable with letting the board make the decisions and not get into the granular aspects of what each group actually does; leave that to the board,” said Mayor Pat Fule. “I also recognize that the membership has caused this question to come up.”

In the worst-case scenario, should funding not have been approved during the Jan. 21 meeting, certain programs would not have been able to be initiated by their regular operating times, scaling down programs, or cancelling altogether. 

With the funds being approved for distribution as recommended, there are now zero funds remaining through the town for the 2026 FCSS grant funding year.

Coun. Brent Wiley supported the recommendation for funding despite the failure to meet quorum. He also called to the public regarding any potential interest in volunteerism for the FCSS board.

“This is less than an ideal situation and we need to get this fixed. If there is anyone at home looking to volunteer for a very, very useful committee that only meets three to four times a year, that is responsible for directing the allocation of tens of thousands of dollars of grant money to fantastic organization in town, this is for you,” he said. 

Coun. Melissa Langmaid and Coun. Claude Brown expressed interest in council receiving a summary of what funded organizations intend to utilize their grants for at a later meeting.

Langmaid’s motion to approve the funding requests was approved unanimously following discussion.