Looking for savings

If council was forced to vote on the proposed 2011 municipal budget tomorrow, the mayor says he would vote it down.

Mayor Keith Hobbs said a proposed 1.64 per cent tax hike isn’t too bad, but compounded with a 14 per cent increase in water rates, "huge" proposed increases to hydro and surprise budget items such as the dredging by the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, is too much too fast.
Seniors and people on low-incomes are being buried in Ontario by the rate changes and Hobbs said even the middle class is starting to feel it.

"I’m getting a lot of complaints from the middle class that they just can’t take much more," Hobbs said Thursday.

While most of those increases are due to provincial changes, Hobbs said the municipal tax rate is decided by the city.

That’s why Hobbs and city council must go through the budget line by line to find ways to cut costs, he said.

"The city’s hands are tied to a degree, but there are other ways that you can look at savings," Hobbs said.

The mayor added that with the OPP recently getting a five per cent raise, he can guarantee city police will be requesting a similar increase. And wage discussions for city employees haven’t started yet.

"We haven’t even talked about wages yet and where they’re going," said Hobbs.

Hobbs is hoping to cut some of those costs by freezing municipal staff levels through attrition.