Thursday, March 28, 2024

Victoria council unanimously votes to suspend $10,000 catered lunch fund

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After a twist in procedures, Victoria’s city council voted unanimously to suspend its paid lunches with immediate effect.

The move came late Thursday morning after council voted in favour of a motion brought by councillor Ben Isitt.

Isitt’s motion called on staff to reallocate $10,000 in the 2021 budget that was set aside for council meeting catering.

Following a recess, Isitt expressed confusion if the motion would cause the suspension of lunches with immediate effect.

This led to a prolonged debate exceeding 30 minutes where councillors ultimately voted to amend their agenda to include a second motion from Isitt calling for the immediate suspension of paid lunches.

The agenda process was met with some raised eyebrows from other councillors, some of whom pointed out that they had been calling for the suspension for years.

“I profoundly disagree with how this came to the table today from a process perspective, that being said it’s here,” said Marianne Alto during the debate.

“A number of us have been trying to get this on the table for eight or nine or ten years.”

“As I’ve said for a long time, ‘no more lunches,'” rookie councillor Stephen Andrew chimed in.

Ultimately, the move that will potentially save $10,000 from Victoria’s draft financial plan of over $300 million passed by unanimous vote on Thursday.

Tim Ford
Tim Ford
Digital staff writer with Victoria Buzz

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