Some last-minute changes were made to the City of Thunder Bay’s 2020 budget. Council decided to cut $50,000 from the Thunder Bay Public Library budget and instead put those funds towards another youth-related program. Council also took $100,000 from their staff’s travel and training budget. Despite the shuffling of funds, the tax levy increase remains unchanged at 1.89% after growth. The budget was ratified with many councillors saying they are attempting to be responsible for taxpayer’s money.
A number of proposed cuts to the 2020 budget were shot down at City Hall Monday night. Council briefly considered cutting the citizen newsletter MyTbay but in the end, spared it from the chopping block. They also decided not to cut money from a committee that runs the racism incident reporting line. Councillors also had no appetite to cut two transit mechanic positions from the budget.
Councillor Shelby Ch’ng suggested they add over $200,000 towards their infrastructure fund. Councillor Mark Bentz told his fellow members he wouldn’t support adding to the budget during its ratification vote. Ch’ng’s motion was lost.
A project that looks at removing lead service pipes from homes in the city was already approved in the 2020 budget, however, Councillor Mark Bentz reintroduced the issue to the council floor prior to the ratification vote. Council decided to pay the $50,000 cost for the program for its first year from its stabilization fund instead of having water rates increase.
