THUNDER BAY – A review of city services that recommends sweeping closures of public facilities looks set for a mixed reception when it comes before city council on Monday.
The program and services review performed by consultant Grant Thornton includes recommendations to close or sell the city’s botanical conservatory, Port Arthur Stadium, Boulevard Lake beach, numerous outdoor skating rinks, two community centres, and both city-owned golf courses, among other closures and service reductions.
Some of the report’s 45 recommendations also touch on improving the effectiveness of city services, through greater use of technology and better asset management of buildings and vehicles, for example.
While council will vote on accepting the review Monday, it will not vote on the recommendations at that time.
Three city councillors who spoke with Tbnewswatch about the review expressed varying opinions.
Coun. Andrew Foulds remains skeptical of the exercise, saying it revealed few new insights on first reading.
“Frankly, we spent $250,000-some on a report, and I’m not entirely sure there was an extraordinary amount of value to it,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s telling us much that we didn’t already know.”
Foulds acknowledged much of that figure – around $230,000 – was paid for by the province’s Audit and Accountability Fund, but noted the review was commissioned before receiving the funding, and still represented an expenditure of taxpayer dollars for what he saw as little return.
While performing the review was “a good idea,” said Coun. Cody Fraser, it contained few surprises. Many recommended facility closures had long been debated, he said, while recommendations like closing Port Arthur Stadium were simply baffling.
Coun. Rebecca Johnson found the review more edifying, partly thanks to some of its less headline-grabbing recommendations.
“I truly believe it’s an excellent report,” she said. “The consultants have done a very good job, and they’ve gone to areas I’d never have thought of – whether it’s human resources, the fleet, or asset management.”
While recommendations to close facilities may draw more attention, some less heralded ones could be more impactful. The report estimates the city could save between $135,000 and $235,000 per year through better maintenance of its vehicle fleet, better training to reduce collisions, and other best practices – more than the $100,000 annual savings from closing city-owned golf courses.
All three councillors agreed the services review is no silver bullet for the city’s financial problems.
The recommendations don’t offer an easy fix, said Johnson, but they do provide useful starting points in addressing what she sees as a looming financial crisis. The longtime councillor is skeptical higher levels of government will step in with assistance to cover the city’s COVID-19 losses, which could top $10 million this year.
That will necessitate some hard choices around the council table, she predicted.
“In my past as a city councillor, I have advocated for the closure of golf courses and other facilities in our community,” she said. “I think now is a chance to seriously look at what we can afford and what we really want to have.”
Johnson said she needed more information on the recommendations before she could say which she'd support, but confirmed she was open to closing some facilities.
Foulds and Fraser, however, were skeptical that would deliver significant savings in the context of the municipal budget.
“Each one individually, they’re peanuts,” said Foulds. “That’s why I was surprised – there’s nothing here that I think moves the dial significantly. You have a $300 million budget annually for Thunder Bay. Saving $2,000 on the Muskeg Express is not significant. Even if you’re talking about closing and selling two golf courses, the estimated savings is $100,000 – that’s not significant [either].”
Implementing all the closures and service reductions could make a dent, Foulds allowed – but worried about the impact that would have on residents’ quality of life.
Fraser agreed.
“I think you always go to wants versus needs,” he said. “A fiscally conservative person will say, do we need these things? Well, absolutely not. But what’s a community without recreational activities? What kind of signal are we [sending] to the community if the first place we cut is in recreational activities?”
The Neebing ward councillor was more interested in the review's biggest single-ticket item of savings: the installation of automated water metre readers. The project would involve a large initial capital outlay – an estimated $12 million – but would recoup around $2 million in additional revenue and savings per year.
The recommendations were unlikely to be implemented in the short term, councillors believed. Rather, they said, some are likely to come forward as council sets future budgets, while others will likely be discarded altogether. They also expected further public consultation on the review after it's officially published following Monday’s meeting.
