February 2026 Board of Health Meeting - Finance and Audit Committee Meeting Minutes Minutes

Meeting Date
February 2026 Board of Health Meeting
Meeting Document Type
Minutes
Finance and Audit Committee Meeting Minutes

Monday, September 8, 2025 – 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
via Microsoft Teams

Audit Committee Members: Dr. Mark Awuku, Robert Maich

Audit Committee Regrets: Renaldo Agostino

Administration: Dr. Ken Blanchette, Emily Durance (recorder), Michael Horrobin, Jalin Whyte-Lewin

QUORUM: Confirmed

  1. Call to Order: Dr. Awuku, Chair
    1. Move to In-Camera
      Motion:                               That the meeting move to in-camera.
      Moved by:                          R. Maich
      Seconded by:                     Dr. Awuku
      CARRIED
      The committee moved In-Camera at 2:08 p.m.
    2. Agenda Approval
      Motion:                               That the agenda be approved.
      Moved by:                          R. Maich
      Seconded by:                     Dr. Awuku
      CARRIED
    3. Declaration of Conflict of Interest - None
  2. Approval of Minutes – June 16, 2025
    Motion:                       That the minutes from the June 16, 2025 meeting be approved.
    Moved by:                  Dr. Awuku
    Seconded by:             R. Maich
    CARRIED
  3. Amendments to WECHU Procurement Policy (for approval) (M. Horrobin)
    1. Briefing Note with Resolution for Approval
      Dr. Mark Awuku reviewed the proposed amendments to the WECHU Procurement Policy.
      M. Horrobin presented on new comparative approval limits in the policy and the changes to the signing requirements on purchases.
      Updated limit for Board of health annual reporting: amount threshold for board approval.
      Removed the requirement to complete an open competitive procurement. Long-term knowledge of the organization is critical. An automatic ten-year competitive cycle does not always deliver better value and can disrupt established financial and insurance arrangements. Additionally, removing the requirement allows the organization to maintain continuity of services and institutional knowledge and relationships; reduces administrative burden. Robert Maich shared his agreement with this approach and appreciates the rationale for this decision.
      M. Horrobin shared more information on the introduction of the purchasing cards to the organization next month. He stated that this is standard practice with other organizations to improve efficiency, reduce paper, etc.
      The purchasing cards are meant for lower value items that are purchased on a more frequent basis (i.e. program supplies, office supplies, travel, training, etc.)
      Dr. Blanchette included that the financial institutions we are looking at are all the same but focusing on efficiency and service. Service has been impeccable with the insurance company we have been dealing with. He pointed out that if the controls are not in place, it increases the organization’s liability risk. M. Horrobin and J. Whyte-Lewin have ensured that the correct controls are in place with the purchasing card process.

      PROPOSED MOTION
      The Finance and Audit Committee recommends to the Board of Health the adoption of amendments to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit Procurement Policy, as set out in the report to the Finance and Audit Committee dated September 8, 2025, including as follows:
      Updating approval limit thresholds based on procurement value;
      Modernizing and clarifying policy wording and removing redundant sections;
      Raising the reporting threshold for contracts requiring annual reporting to the Board of Health from $50,000 to $121,199;
      Removing the requirement to complete an open competitive procurement to secure financial institution services or insurance brokerage services every ten (10) years; and
      Introducing Purchasing Cards (P-cards) as a payment method, together with a new Appendix U containing the P-card Standard Operating Procedure. 
      The Finance & Audit Committee members were in agreement with and carried the above proposed motion, to be presented to the Board of Health during the September 18, 2025 meeting.
    2. Redline Version of WECHU Procurement Policy
      The redline version of the WECHU Procurement Policy was included for Finance & Audit Committee members to ensure clarity on the changes made to the policy.
  4. 2025 Q2 Financial Report (M. Horrobin)
    An assumption of vacancies was built into the 2025 budget. We are looking at this closely but do not want to run the risk of overspending. There is a lot of discussion at the Leadership table on this topic.
    M. Horrobin shared the detailed review of the mandatory programs budget.
        The WECHU has seen more legal fees this year, as we had a difficult negotiation for the Leamington site lease amendment. There have also been a number of labour issues that required legal input.
        Construction and architectural contracts.
    Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDCP) – very large underspend at the 6-month point. Salaries and wages account for a lot of the underspending. The oral health program runs into the evenings, which provides staffing challenges.
    M. Horrobin provides a forecast of gapped dollars to the Leadership Team on a monthly basis in order to develop strategic solutions for use of the money – leadership training, contract staff have been brought on (who were not budgeted for) to deal with program pressures.
    R. Maich asked about the introduction of a reserve fund. If the WECHU was permitted to keep as little as 2% of the budget in a strategic reserve, it would not be necessary to go through gapping exercises. He asked if there has been any discussion about this with the province. Dr. Blanchette responded that himself and M. Horrobin have discussed that this conversation should be brought up to the board. M. Horrobin and the Finance team have made some significant changes in the way that we look at our finances at the WECHU. He feels that we have developed the credibility to make this ask to the Ministry. R. Maich asked what would be an appropriate percentage that could be kept aside in a reserve and suggested that we look at it through the lens of a municipal politician.
    Dr. Blanchette will reach out to the other boards and commissions who receive funding from the City of Windsor and the County of Essex to determine what they are using as a reserve percentage. M. Horrobin added that our challenge going into 2026 is phase 2 of construction. A one-time funding request has gone to the ministry for facility renewal that would need to be spent by March 2026, but we have not heard from the Ministry on this request.
    R. Maich added that the pending challenge of spending by March 31, 2026. He would like to see a motion go to the board on the topic of a reserve fund.
    The next Finance & Audit Committee meeting is scheduled for November 10th. At that point in time, we will have a much better idea of what we are gapping on the municipal portion. A draft motion will be presented at the November 10th F&AC Meeting.
  5. Next Meeting: At the Call of the Chair, or Monday, November 10, 2025 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  6. Adjournment
    Motion:                               That the meeting move out of in-camera and be adjourned.
    Moved by:                          R. Maich
    Seconded by:                     Dr. Mark Awuku
    CARRIED
    The meeting moved out of in-camera and adjourned at 3:21 p.m.

RECORDING SECRETARY: E. Durance

SUBMITTED BY: K. Blanchette

APPROVED BY: Finance and Audit Committee



List of links present in page
  1. https://www.wechu.org/board-health-meeting-agendas-and-minutes/february-2026-board-health-meeting-finance-and-audit
  2. https://www.wechu.org/board-meetings/february-2026-board-health-meeting