It’s ‘thanks but no thanks’ to city council from the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority.
Authority chair Donna Blunt tells us the board has already drawn up its budget and cannot accommodate the request by council not to pass on any costs to city taxpayers.
She tells us the LRCA “fully understands the financial challenges” its area municipalities are facing and took that into consideration when drawing up the draft budget.
The LRCA chair points out next year the city will only see about a 1.07 percent increase in its levy which is a $16,000 increase compared to 2019.
The chair of the District Social Services Board is also surprised by the council request.
Lucy Kloosterhuis does not know why city council wants their board not pass any of its costs on to the city taxpayer.
Kloosterhuis suggests the board does not have a choice about which programs they can run and which they will not.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit says it understands the “increased burden” municipalities are under as the result of “changes being enacted by the provincial government” and “looks forward to engaging with the municipalities around the details and implications of the funding changes.”
