THUNDER BAY — The most important question in a public survey about Thunder Bay Fire Rescue might be one near the very end.
It asks residents if they'd prefer to pay more taxes to maintain or improve the fire department's services, or whether they'd opt to reduce services in order to keep taxes down.
The question is one of eight being posed to citizens in a new questionnaire posted online on Get Involved Thunder Bay under the subheading Asset Management Plan.
The City says this is part of its ongoing effort to measure how residents feel about the quality of municipal services and the value they are receiving for their tax dollars.
"This survey will be used to track citizen satisfaction with Fire Rescue services over time," it states on the website.
Survey responses are anonymous.
Another question asks participants how quickly they believe firefighters should arrive at an emergency scene once the alarm is called in.
The survey also seeks to learn how familiar residents are with the various functions performed by Thunder Bay Fire Rescue and to rate their experience if they've ever required any of these services.
Amy Coomes, the project manager, said these answers will help inform an update to the City's asset management plan.
"Collecting feedback from residents about what levels of service are expected from the City-owned infrastructure is a key step in developing the plan. This input allows us to gain a deeper understanding of people's experiences, concerns, and needs," said Coomes.
Coomes said the information will help the City administration address community priorities and plan for future service requirements.
The survey will remain open until the end of January 2025.
In 2019, the City also conducted a public survey about Thunder Bay Fire Rescue as part of an operational review and preparation of a new master plan.
One of the key objectives at that time was to reduce costs.
Although the consultants who developed the plan suggested the city look into the feasibility of reducing the number of fire stations, that option was never implemented.
Coomes said the current public survey has a different purpose.
"This is really to take a look at our assets, fire trucks and things like that, what needs to be done for the future of those services. We're not going to be recommending specifics unless council would like to look further into that plan and what gets recommended from that plan," said Coomes.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue operates out of eight stations covering the City of Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation and serves an area of about 400 square kilometres.
