The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) council passed the second budget presented by president Will Cathcart on March 16, after the first was voted unanimously against.
The 2013-14 budget was first presented March 9, five months late, according to RRRA’s constitutional deadline. Council voted against the budget with 17 against, none in favour, and five abstaining.
Cathcart reintroduced the budget, this time with the RRRA operations manager present to provide clarifications to the council.
The budget underwent minor changes from the previous version, Cathcart said.
The new budget was passed with three abstentions, no objections, and 21 in favour, but Cathcart said the document was similar to the one that failed at the last council meeting.
He said members of the council had issues with him personally, which was reflected by their decision to not approve the last budget.
“What you saw today was a group of people that approved a document that was similar to the last one,” he said.
The budget underwent minor changes during the meeting. The residence formal ticket price was reduced from $30 to $10, and the wages for Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and Deputy Electoral Officer (DEO) for RRRA elections were increased.
CEO Adrienne Macdonald said she was concerned with what she believes are unfair wages for the amount of hours she and DEO Samantha Cox put in during the elections.
“We ran the first fair RRRA elections in 10 years,” she said.
Macdonald said she and Cox worked three weeks for 10 hours a day, and that she was promised she would be paid more than what the budget declared.
The wages were increased with a motion that passed with no objections and two abstentions.
Chair of RRRA Sierra Fullerton resigned at the beginning of the meeting, and said she was hired on an understanding that there would be regular RRRA meetings held every week. She said she was rarely notified of any.
“I haven’t been given the tools necessary to do my job properly and, knowing that, I can’t continue to be the RRRA chair for this year,” Fullerton said.
