The Clutha District Council’s community reimbursement scheme has run into a deficit for the first time, leaving councillors puzzled.
Councillors discussed the policy regarding the scheme, which is intended to support non-profit organisations in the district for one off-projects, at a corporate services committee meeting yesterday.
The council had requested a report on the fees and charges fund, from which organisations were reimbursed, as it was discovered to be in deficit.
The amount held in the account was $37,377, of which $27,000 had been set aside for the Kaitangata promotions growth proposal for a land and house package, leaving $10,377 for the reimbursement of council fees and charges.
The amount paid out as part of the community reimbursement scheme was $12,047.50, creating a deficit of $1670.50.
At the meeting, council senior policy analyst Larissa Brown said more organisations had applied to take advantage of the scheme.
‘‘As more people have known about the fund it’s become more utilised.’’The amount available was initially set at about $10,000 and was capped at $2000 per organisation in any given financial year.
Council chief executive Steve Hill said the funds account usually generated a surplus.‘‘This would be the first year it has blown out like this,’’ he said.
It was not a bad thing as the council wanted to support community organisations by reducing their costs when possible.
However, the council was unsure of what to do in the situation the fees and charges fund was in deficit because of the reimbursement scheme.
There was no clear policy or information on whether the funds should be increased and where the surplus from previous years had been allocated.
The policy was also unclear on whether the fund was allowed to run into a deficit.
Ms Brown said the council would have to review the policy in the future and decide on any changes.
It would come up as part of future reviews by the council, she said.
