The scheduled of approval of grants provided by Knox Council to provide both emergency relief and minor grants for the community has led to confusion and ultimately a deferral in the chambers at the last meeting.
The monthly budget item list up for approval for Knox Council went awry almost straight away at their mid-monthly meeting on 14 July, with the phrase ‘on the fly’ dropped more than once.
Both the emergency funding as well as the minor grants items for the month came under scrutiny by councillors, with calls for clarification, deferrals and reductions in funding suggested immediately.
Taylor ward Councillor Susan Pearce wanted to move an alternate for the minor grants, deferring them, raising concerns that two of the community groups had applied for grants for similar items – in this case, gazebos.
The minor grants program provides grant funding that can respond monthly to requests for small amounts to assist a wide range of community-led activities across Knox and assist with short-term, one-off projects.
The emergency relief fund was designed to help Knox’s not-for-profit community groups deliver urgent, essential relief and support services to residents experiencing hardship.
This month, both Foothills Community Care and the Salvation Army in Ferntree Gully had applications in for $20,000 each.
The yearly 2025-26 Knox budget provides $100,000.00 for the fund.
“I have concerns that we’re going to lose, basically use up all of that funding if we keep going,” said Cr Pearce.
Suggesting the requirements for the emergency fund be tightened up, Cr Pearce proposed a reduction of the emergency grant fund to $10,000.
Dinsdale ward Cr Robert Williams then amended the suggestion slightly and put to the council that instead of approving two applications, they only approve one.
“I would like to defer the application from the Salvation Army to a future council meeting to enable council officers to clarify further information,” he said.
At this point, Dobson ward Cr Meagan Baker clarified with the Manager of Governance and Risk, Andrew Dowling, that even with deferment, the Salvation Army would still receive their $20,000.
“That application being in already would be assessed under the existing guidelines, not the amended guidelines,” said Mr Dowling.
Director of Connected Communities, Judy Chalkley, also clarified that applications already in that were already submitted for the higher amount would still be eligible.
“My understanding is that there have been numerous applications received already in support of the $20,000, so we would just go through the applications that we have received and see if they meet the criteria,” she said.
Collier ward Cr Chris Duncan then came out to speak against the alternative, with Cr Baker supporting.
“My issue here is that we’re creating policy on the fly,” he said.
Discussion also revolved around the use of the minor grants program for capital works and the rationale behind removing and postponing the Salvation Army’s application when they had already met the criteria.
Cr Baker stated she wanted to defer for clarification.
“I still think that we need to look at the minor grants to say that they don’t apply to capital works,” she said.
In regard to the emergency funding, Cr Baker said she was quite concerned that in one month, 40,000 had already been allocated.
At this point, Deputy Mayor and Tirthatuan Cr Glen Atwell put the alternate motion to change the budget items up for to vote.
The motion was not carried, which put the original plan back on the table.
Cr Williams then suggested a deferral, with support from Cr Pearce.
“I strongly believe we’re still making a call on the fly on this one,” he said.
“I think there’s too much inconsistency around this, especially the intent of the emergency relief fund.”
“I’m concerned that the fact that 40,000 has already been expensed and it’s only been one month.”
Deputy Mayor Atwell also sought some more clarification on the Salvation Army application, and Ms Chalkey said she believed what the group had applied for was to support those more vulnerable in the community.
Cr Duncan pointed out that the applicants had already been assessed against Knox Council’s policy.
“If our policy for the emergency relief is not robust enough, then maybe we should bring that back to the chamber to debate the terms around that,” he said.
Voting on the original item, all those in favour were Cr Baker, Cr Duncan, and Cr Atwell. All those opposed were Cr Kenneth, Cr Considine, Cr Pearce and Cr Williams, and the motion was not carried.
Cr Williams then put forward that there be a deferral to postpone the original list of budget items until the next mid-month meeting.
“So we have enough time to consider the applications in front of us and seek some further information,” he said.
Cr Pearce said she felt that the emergency relief fund is going to be exhausted before they know it.
Cr Williams said he sent apologies to all the people who are potentially waiting for this meeting and the outcome of this meeting in the hope that they would be able to fund their projects a lot sooner.
“It’s not something I’ve taken lightly,” he said.
The motion to postpone was then carried.
