THUNDER BAY – Aside from adding $9,600 for more garbage containers at transit stops, the proposed city budget remains identical to where it started after council got its first crack at making changes.
Thunder Bay city council on Tuesday night met for nearly four hours to review the draft budget, with only one amendment that added 0.01 per cent to the tax levy receiving approval.
Perhaps setting the tone for the remaining deliberation meetings, Mayor Keith Hobbs insisted budget time means tough decisions.
“We’ve tasked administration to cut from the budget $1.6 million and they’ve done it. Every single department has taken a hit in some regard or another,” Hobbs said.
“They’ve had to tighten their belts and done a great job. I see before us a really good budget that’s a tight budget.”
The most significant modification to the budget considered by council was brought forward by Coun. Andrew Foulds, who proposed adding $160,000 to restore two positions cut at the 55 Plus Centre.
That inclusion would brought the municipal levy increase to 3.69 per cent – or a net of 2.99 per cent after factoring in growth. The tax levy is the amount of money required to be collected from the municipal tax base and is not the change to property taxes.
“In this particular case I don’t agree with administration’s recommendation,” Foulds said, commending the work of the facility’s volunteer board of directors.
“We’ve heard the older adult population in this community is growing. In fact, the data in our action plan says one third – 33 per cent – of our citizens by 2036 will be over 60.”
The amendment was ultimately referred back to city administration after questions arose about whether the positions should have specified job descriptions and whether they would be tied to the 55 Plus Centre.
Coun. Rebecca Johnson questioned whether administration believed reinstating those two positions would be the best use if the $160,000 were to be added to the budget.
“I would have to say no, I’m not sure these are the right resources where the investment would have the best value for either the volunteers and or the staff,” community services manager Kelly Robertson said, adding a suggestion that additional personnel could be allocated more broadly to enhance programming or services for the older adult population.
Council also rejected reversing administration’s proposed fee increases for official plan and zoning bylaw amendments, an issue raised by Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce president Charla Robinson at last week’s public pre-budget meeting where she speculated the added costs would send the wrong message to the business community.
Mark Smith, the city’s manager of development and emergency services, said the city typically sees about 24 amendment applications annually with two-thirds related to residential development.
“These applications are already heavily subsidized by the taxpayer,” Smith said. “It costs roughly twice what we recover in fees to process these applications.”
One area council did find common ground was adding $9,600 to cover the operating cost of 16 new in-ground garbage container at transit stops.
Coun. Frank Pullia had previously pushed for $63,000 to be included for consideration in the budget, $45,000 of which would have paid for the purchase of 30 new waste containers. But city administration since was able to partner with EcoSuperior to access 16 additional containers at no capital cost to the city, with only the tab for ongoing maintenance to be picked up.
Pullia described the additional receptacles as a preventative measure that could go a long way in addressing litter concerns.
“I’m not keen on adding money to the budget. If anything we need to decrease it,” Pullia said. “But litter has been a persistent problem in our community. Time after time our citizens tell us that we need to keep our city clean and beautiful.”
“Trashy people cost us money,” Coun. Linda Rydholm added.
As well, council unanimously backed a recommendation from administration to contribute $1 million over five years for the cardiovascular surgery program at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. With the funds coming from the Renew Thunder Bay Reserve Fund, that decision does not directly impact this year’s budget.
Council continues its budget review process on Thursday.
