THUNDER BAY – Mayor Bill Mauro is calling on three outside boards whose funding models have been affected by changes made by the Progressive Conservative provincial government to not pass added costs onto municipal taxpayers.
Thunder Bay city council on Monday night approved directing city administration to engage with the Thunder Bay District Board of Health, Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board and the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority ahead of next year’s budget, along with sending a letter from the mayor to the three organizations urging them to not use municipal taxpayers to fill the gaps made by potential funding cuts.
“If one of these boards makes the decision to maintain all of the programming they have previously before the cut, that additional cost would come to our municipal tax payers because the provincial portion has shrunk. The municipal portion would then have to go up,” Mauro said.
“I would hope that it’s not automatically assumed that municipal tax payers will backfill – as I see it – the cuts that are coming at us.”
The provincial government has changed the cost sharing formula for public health units, lowering its proportion to 70 per cent from the previous 75 per cent, requiring municipalities to take on the additional proportion. That adjustment, which initially would have been applied retroactively earlier this year, is now expected to go into effect in 2020.
For social services boards, municipalities will be required to pay for 20 per cent of new child care spaces, which had previously been completely provincially funded. Additional administrative child care costs resulting provincial funding cuts are expected to be felt in 2021 and 2022.
Conservation authorities last month received a letter from Environment Minister Jeff Yurek, encouraging them to review their programs and services to ensure that they remain within their core mandate.
Coun. Andrew Foulds (Current River), who serves as a city representative on both the conservation authority and social services boards, said he appreciated the spirit of Mauro’s advocacy but was concerned about how it might be received.
“I’m worried that this is the City of Thunder Bay going into these other boards and telling them what to do, at least maybe being perceived as this,” Foulds said. “I’m very concerned about what the messaging could be to some of our smaller municipalities.”
Foulds and Coun. Trevor Giertuga (At-Large) were the only two dissenting votes.
Coun. Kristen Oliver (Westfort), who is a city representative on the board of health, said she agreed that the boards need to look at improving delivery, especially for their non-mandated and non-financed programs.
“The other member communities are literally in the same boat as we are. Their levies will be going up as well and it’s going to be very taxing, especially for a lot of the smaller communities where a one per cent tax increase generates very, very little for them,” Oliver said.
City manager Norm Gale said the extent of any financial impact is not yet known as the boards have not yet submitted their budgets. He added while there hasn’t yet been a specific ask for an increase, he can’t rule it out.
In a July report, administration projected that the impact of the added public health costs could amount to $1.4 million for Thunder Bay.
City administration will be tasked on reporting back to council by the end of November.
