North Bay city council approves 3% tax increase

Martha Dillman · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 10:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

North Bay metropolis assembly has approved the city's 2025 operating and superior budgets, with a taxation summation acceptable for three per cent.

The fund was passed astatine a gathering connected Monday night.

"This fund balances the fiscal realities of contiguous with the investments needed to unafraid North Bay's aboriginal — ensuring indispensable services, supporting economical maturation and enhancing retired community's prime of life," lawman politician and fund main Maggie Horsfield said.

"We've worked hard to support the taxation summation arsenic debased arsenic imaginable portion inactive investing successful services and infrastructure our assemblage depends on."

The fund totals $167 million, with a taxation levy of astir $114 million. The metropolis said for a homeowner with a spot assessed astatine $300,000, the approved fund translates to a monthly summation of astir $11.61.

Close to fractional of the taxation levy is allocated to assorted work providers, including the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board, the North Bay Police Service, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit and the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority among others.

The fund passed by a 7-3 vote, with councillors Sara Inch, Tanya Vrebosch and Jamie Lowery voting against the operating budget. Coun. Gary Gardiner was not successful attendance.

'Cost is unaffordable'

Coun. Mac Bain supported the budget, but had questions astir the backing allocated for the constabulary department, which saw an summation of $3.1 million.

"The increases that we're seeing astatine this peculiar constituent are excessively high. They're unaffordable," helium said.

"I cognize the caller constabulary main is doing an fantabulous job. He has a hard occupation to bash and I privation him well. But the world is this outgo is unaffordable for the mean payer to maintain."

Mayor Peter Chirico defended that increase.

"The lone mode that you're doing to consciousness harmless is with our constabulary services," helium said.

"The men and women of our constabulary work bash a superb job. Our caller constabulary main has implemented a fig of programs to summation visibility successful our city."

Vrebosch pointed retired this is the 3rd fund successful a enactment she hasn't supported.

She said she has enactment guardant respective ideas to assembly which person not been heard. Vrebosch pointed to the illustration of the city's attack to recruiting doctors.

"Many of america were astatine ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipality Association). Some of america heard close from the curate saying infrastructure is precise important," she said. 

"And I enactment retired saying possibly we request to look astatine a building. Maybe we request to bash thing specified arsenic similar our communities East Ferris, South River, Bonfield, they ain the infrastructure, they enactment successful concern with Ontario Health, but determination are ways to bash thing similar that truthful we tin code the doc shortage and vie with smaller communities."

In December, Greater Sudbury metropolis assembly approved a 4.8 per cent taxation increase. City assembly successful Timmins accrued its fund by 3.43 per cent and Sault Ste. Marie metropolis assembly has approved a 3.68 per cent increase.