THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay District Service Administrative Board is looking at an $11.9 million increase to its operating budget for 2025 – a 9.9 per cent increase over this year – but that could still change.
The budget proposal presented by DSSAB administration on Thursday included a $1.5 million increase to the levy to municipalities and unorganized areas. That's up 6.3 per cent over the approved levy for 2024.
After a lengthy meeting, the board asked administration to reduce the levy increase to less than 5 per cent.
“That's our board's direction. We will do that. We will provide implications of what we can do," said Ken Ranta, CEO District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board.
When administration comes back to the board in December, they will present a final budget with a reduced levy and an overview of the services and programs they had to cut to keep the levy increase down.
"We have some reserve fund opportunities that we can utilize. We will also explore the options that will provide the least impact on the individuals we serve because that is the most important reason why we're here,” he said.
Currently, there is $2.6 million in the DSSAB's levy stabilization reserve fund.
The proposed budget plans to dip into the reserve fund to finance the development of a beautification, security and environmental design study related to DSSAB’s direct-owned housing.
Getting the levy increase down to 5 per cent would mean pulling additional money from the reserve.
“To be honest, we haven't explored what it would take to get to a level like that but we do have some mitigation opportunities, that mentioned reserve funds, that we can touch on," said Ranta. "We can look at deferring some program implementation. We can look at reducing some of the program offerings that would have the least impact on our community. There's always a sort of a cost-benefit when you look at that.”
Ranta noted that year-to-year operational pressures contributed to increases in expenses such as maintenance and building supplies costs.
The DSSAB's budget for community housing in 2024 was $20.6 million. In 2025, there will be a $744,800 increase, 3.6 per cent.
The most important contributor to the levy increase is the reduction in federal block funding which the DSSAB uses to pay for mortgages on social housing.
Board chair Brian Hamilton said there were some tough decisions to make after receiving the proposed budget.
“Every municipality that is represented around the table is struggling with budgetary issues and issues of affordability. We don't want to compromise service delivery. We really have a responsibility and a duty to serve some of the most vulnerable citizens in our community,” Hamilton said.
During the budget meeting, some of the discussion was about the impact on the budget next year if the board decide to decrease the proposed levy this year.
Lowering the levy this year would mean they wouldn’t have enough reserve funding to lower the municipal levy next year.
“If the administration gets to that point where they can knock down that maybe 1.5 per cent, next year's budget is going to look a little bit different and it's going to be a little bit harder,” Hamilton said.
“We try to put out tight budgets. We don't have a positive or negative variant, so it's becoming more and more difficult to actually replenish our reserve funds," he continued.
"So, when we use reserve funds – and there is money there – the ability to replenish them, those opportunities are sometimes not there, and we need those reserve funds for all kinds of reasons," he said. "It is a big deal to have to go there, but we have a responsibility to taxpayers to provide affordable services.”