We are about six
months away from Thunder Bay’s next municipal election and the race for the
mayor’s chair and council spots represents an opportunity to examine directions
and priorities. The last election was
obsessed with the event centre and the issue was a distraction from important
issues such as the sale of municipal public assets, economic development, the
city’s economy, the sustainability of municipal finances as well as the ongoing
saga of infrastructure renewal and in particular the James Street Bridge which
has now been closed to vehicular traffic since 2013.
Sadly, with the
exception of the events centre, which has ridden off into the sunset for the
time being, all of these other issues are still ongoing. And of course, added to all of these issues
are those with respect to relations with First Nations as well as court cases
involving the city’s politicians and administration. Needless to say, Thunder
Bay has garnered an inordinate amount of negative attention on the national
stage in areas under the purview of municipal government and such attention is
certainly not a magnet for business investment.
When it comes to
economic development and the city’s economy, it remains that both population
and employment
levels in the city have been flat for the last four years. The low unemployment rate in the city results
from a labour force that has shrunk faster than employment and of itself is not
a positive harbinger for the future. Waiting
for the Ring
of Fire to kick start the economy appears to be a process akin to Waiting for Godot
and all the talk of smelter locations in the world will be of no avail given low
current chromite prices. As for the
current trappings of prosperity in the city, they are largely the result of a
large public sector and associated public spending which after the June
provincial election could very well come to a crashing halt.
Of course, even without
long term private sector wealth creation, the illusion of prosperity created by
public sector spending has helped fuel municipal
government spending and tax increases which over the last few years have
averaged above the city’s inflation and GDP growth rates. Moreover, there has been a continued shift of
the tax burden onto the residential ratepayer and they now account for about 70
percent of tax revenues. Added to this
are the continued steep increases in user fees and charges which given the talk
about “rainfall
taxes” show no sign of abating anytime soon.
Indeed, the thirst for
residential tax revenues also results in city council giving the go ahead to
new urban residential developments outside core areas that while adding to the
tax base in the short term also add to urban sprawl and require municipal servicing
whose maintenance will add to city expense in years to come. The sustainability of this type of short term
development formula should be a topic for debate and discussion but again it is
an issue the politicians are happy to ignore when it comes to an election year.
So, what is to be
done? Well, for starters Thunder Bay residents need to pay closer attention to
the fiscal, economic and social issues affecting the city and ask candidates more
pointed questions about what solutions might help address the situation. Perhaps one should ask why anyone might want to buy
a new house in Thunder Bay if the property tax bill for a new bungalow is going
to be in the range of $5000 to $7000 onto which will be added another $1000 a
year in water and sewer charges.
Given the length of
tenure that many current members of council have had, a legitimate question is
whether or not Thunder Bay might not be better off with a substantial transfusion
of new blood on City Council with new ideas and new energy to look at new ways
of doing things. After all, current
members of City Council have generally been the most comfortable with solutions
that involve raising taxes and spending more money. While the claim is often made that millions
in efficiencies and savings have been implemented, the fact is the tax levy continues
to grow which means total spending is going up and not down.
Making Thunder Bay’s
next municipal election count requires making an effort to create real change
in the way municipal issues are dealt with and that requires some new blood. It
truly is time for change.