THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay was able to restore public participation in budget deliberations on Thursday night, which hasn’t occurred since before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least 48 residents came out to the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre on Arthur Street West for an informal question and answer session with city council and staff.
Paul Berger, who is an associate professor at Lakehead University, was disappointed with the format.
“I have done a deputation before, but that process now has been removed,” Berger said.
“That was a way to really have the attention of the councillors and media so that the message could get out. I am happy with some of the conversations I've had tonight, but it’s the city council who make the decisions, not really the people behind the table that we're speaking with.”
City manager Norm Gale said the voice of the people will be heard.
“This is an opportunity for people to ask questions directly of city administration - they can ask specific questions about whatever their concerns are,” Gale said. “City administration is here to listen to people and residents who come in and have concerns. Whatever feedback we get tonight, we bring it back, collate it and our team will review it and it will be sent to city council.”
The last year that this type of event was held in this kind of format was 2019.
Katrina O’Neill was a fan of the event, and got a few questions answered around the proposed municipal tax levy of 5.5 per cent and whether the different departments within the city have enough money to perform their duties.
“I feel that 5.5 per cent is a benign number, what does that mean to me as a person with a house, what am I actually looking at? The city provided that information directly so we're talking on average about $200 per household,” O’Neill said.
“Really putting that in context, what does that mean to me and my budget? $10 a month, I can handle that. Or $15 a month. That's great.”
When talking about city services, O’Neill said: “I don't think any member of this city would be comfortable to know that a police officer, a firefighter or a public service worker was injured on the job or tragically killed because they didn't have the tools and resources they needed to do the job.
"They need to be safe. We need to make sure that those departments and even services like the library have the resources they need to do what they need to do.”
Liz Poulin came out Thursday wanting answers from the parking authority on their financial plan, which was endorsed by council with a few exceptions.
“I got clarity on what their mandate is, and what their role is. The issue that we brought forward, they were unable to deal with it because they have to do user-pay model financing. Our problem was with the way this whole thing is financed,” Poulin said.
When asked about council’s amendments, including instituting $2 per hour parking at lots such as Marina Park but bumping the price to $3 per hour at Market Square as of June 1, Poulin noted: “It's a disincentive, it's a barrier. It's very hard to predict how long you're going to be if you’re walking around with a friend or grabbing a cup of coffee.”
Poulin added that her voice was heard, but understands that the parking authority’s “hands are tied because they need to balance their budget too.”
Council will review the budget on Jan. 30, Feb. 1, Feb. 5 and Feb. 7
The budget is scheduled to be ratified on Monday, February 12.
