The mayor of Essex is pushing to help those in the community affected by flooding events.
During Monday's Essex council meeting, Sherry Bondy presented a notice of motion asking that administration review the current flooding subsidy programs and prepare a report including recommendations for changes in these programs and subsidies offered.
Council unanimously approved the motion.
This motion was presented following two back-to-back storms in late August that caused significant flooding throughout the Town of Essex.
Bondy says that removing red tape from the flooding subsidy program application process is something she's looking at.
Red tape refers to regulations or conformity to formal rules or standards which are claimed to be excessive or rigid which may hinder or prevent action or decision-making.
Bondy says there are many items that could be reviewed.
"For example you have to get a pre-inspection by Town staff, where there could be like a fast track program that's done in the City of Windsor where the plumber does the inspection. And where we're doing a lot of work with permits, maybe we can look at that."
She says it can be a difficult time for those in the trade and homeowners.
"We want people to get the work done, and we want them to get it done convenient, and I think that there's a lack of skilled trades out there, generally speaking, so getting a lot of quotes from plumbers is hard on the plumbers, it's also hard on the homeowners."
Rob Shepley, Essex deputy mayor, says he agrees there are things that could be tweaked.
"I think that pre-inspection we could do without, and we definitely want to have an inspection after the fact to make sure that what we're subsidizing goes in. And I think that as long as it's a licensed plumber we should be good to go."
Bondy says water back-up sump pumps played a role in the August floods and the Town will discuss incentivizing battery back-up systems.
Administration will bring forward a report at a later date.
-with files from CTV Windsor