Thunder Bay’s Budget Chair feels the amount of money being put in to emergency services needs to be looked at.
Mark Bentz, who’s also an At Large councillor, told Acadia News that while it’s important to have city dollars going into Fire, Police and EMS it’s not sustainable in the long term.
“They’re starting to represent a major portion of the budget,” Bentz added. “When you add on new facilities and new employees that the emergency services are garnering in each and every budget, it’s a trend we need to be aware of.”
The proposed 2022 Capital and Operating Budget includes a request from the Thunder Bay Police Services for an additional $1.8 million in spending.
During a virtual At Large meeting Thursday, one councillor made a vow to push for $1 million more in police spending.
Bentz stressed that because this is a health care issue, it shouldn’t just be up to the municipality to fund emergency services.
“When it comes right down to it, it’s to help people who are in trouble. The provincial and federal governments hopefully will think about assisting municipalities more in that area, and they do so now to a certain extent,” Bentz noted.
Bentz added the costs for emergency services are exceeding inflation for the city, which in the long term will force them to ask for help from the higher levels of government.
When it comes to the infrastructure deficit, Bentz mentioned it’s up over $30 million.
“The province has it’s eyes on it,” Bentz responded. “We are chipping away at it. This year’s budget has an additional $1 million of capital taken from the levy, so a million of the five million dollars in the increase to the levy is going directly to infrastructure.”
When it comes to water rates, Bentz stated they’re scheduled to go up three per cent in 2022 and have jumped up close to 20 per cent in the last four or five years.
“The Walkerton tragedy is what is triggering these regulations and precautions around water sources and providing water in municipalties. Thunder Bay is no different than other cities in terms of the costs, we’re not excessive in that area.”
The proposed Municipal Tax Levy is set at 2.44 per cent before growth and 2.29 per cent after growth.
2022 Key Budget Drivers
Increases to the tax levy include:
- $1.6 million increase for Police Services
- $1 million capital financed by the tax levy
- $1 million in expansions, including Licensing & Enforcement, Parks (Pool 6) and Superior North EMS
- $500,000 in Program and Services Review implementation including HR Recruitment, Digital Strategy and Municipal Recycling Program
- $500,000 in Insurance premiums
- $300,000 for Outside Boards
- $200,000 for the Police Services Board
Reductions to the tax levy include:
- $1.3 million in tax write-offs, insurance claims and legal fees reduction based on recent trend analysis
- $800,000 in Increased Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund allocation
- $600,000 in reduced Thunder Bay Fire Rescue staffing costs in accordance with the Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Master Plan
- $300,000 in user fee increases
The estimated impact of COVID-19 in 2022 is $7 million.
