THUNDER BAY – Andy Wolff is a well-known city-hall watchdog.
A runner-up in the 2014 Current River race, the 54-year-old Wolff, a dangerous goods co-ordinator with North Star Air, has never been afraid to question both members and council city administration when he thinks there might be a better way to do things or a chance to save the taxpayers a few dollars.
But after years on the sidelines, he’d like to have a seat at the table, to help ensure the right decisions are being made in the first place.
He questions whether the current council has always done that.
“I feel that we need to move forward,” Wolff said. “We have a choice between the past, the present and the future. We’ve seen that we don’t want to go to the past. The present, I don’t think that we’re going to have the progression that we should and I believe that I have ideas that will move our city forward.
“We’ll become more of a fiscally responsible city, more accountability.”
Wolf said the city needs to take a long, hard look at recent tax increases, and find efficiencies to avoid putting more of a burden on the taxpayers’ backs.
“I think we need to go back into the past, find out what programs we did have when we had a reasonable tax on our residents and do a full core review of administration and all the departments and committees and find out if they really are effective,” Wolff said.
One tariff he’s already itching to remove is the recently installed hotel tax.
Current River is home to several smaller hotels along Cumberland Street, and the owners are concerned about how the tax will affect their bottom line.
Wolff, who ran provincially in June for the Northern Ontario Party, promised transparency at city hall, adding voters should have a say on major projects, like the waterfront and the now-shelved event centre.
“One of the things I think that is lacking in council is communication with the public. I think they pretty much don’t want the public involved and that’s one of the things I’d really like to do. I’d like to be a voice for people.”
