Low turnout at public budget session in Thunder Bay sparks conversation on municipal engagement
About 20 people attended Q&A session at Italian Cultural Centre
The City of Thunder Bay is exploring ways to improve municipal engagement ahead of this year's budget deliberations, after seeing low participation in its latest surveys and public budget session.
An informal Q&A event was held Wednesday night at the Italian Cultural Centre, where community members had the chance to speak directly with municipal staff from each department, as well as councillors and the mayor.
Representatives from other organizations, including the Thunder Bay Public Library, Thunder Bay Police Service and Superior North EMS, were also there.
City staff were set up at tables forming a circle around the room, providing information about how their services fall into this year's proposed operating budget — which, pending city council's approval, would see a 3.7 per cent tax levy increase.
While around 75 people attended last year's budget Q&A session, only about 20 attended Wednesday night's event.
"It surprises me because [at] the coffee shops and whatnot, everybody's 'city this, city that.' So why wouldn't they come out to an opportunity like this and talk to administration?" said resident Ken Shields, who came to discuss the city's active transportation master plan.
"I have no idea why there aren't more people here. I wish there were," he said.
Municipal engagement has been an ongoing challenge, said city treasurer Keri Greaves.
"We've seen that engagement in the public is fairly low with the surveys that we've had, and in discussions with other municipalities, they're in the same boat," Greaves said.
"We're all trying to figure out what's the best way to reach people, and it's not a science — it's a bit of an art."
More engagement leads to better decisions: treasurer
Thunder Bay resident Andre Gagne said he became engaged in municipal politics a few years ago, and makes a regular habit of going through council agendas and staff reports. He said it was nice to have the chance to speak directly with staff at Wednesday's session.
A big takeaway from this year's budget documents is the city's efforts to make them more user friendly and accessible, he said.
"The budget today is very clear, and it's very readable and it's just improved. You can see the direction they're going in, and I think they've done a really good job," Gagne said.
Resident Sara Williamson, who came out to ask about funding for paramedic services and city transit, said navigating documents on the city's website can be confusing.
"It's good to go digital. A lot of people have devices, but they're not necessarily that cyber-savvy, so I think it still needs to be worked on or maybe we need more workshops."
Community members have until Feb. 4 to fill out a survey on the city's website about this year's operating budget.
"Some people aren't comfortable coming out to an event like this," Greaves said at Wednesday's Q&A. "This survey gives them a little bit of an opportunity to read the questions, give it some thought, sleep on it, come back to it and give a more fulsome response."
Greaves said city staff will take time to assess the turnout at Wednesday's session and think critically about ways to better reach community members going forward.
"The services that we deliver need to be aligned with the community needs. So, unless we hear from the public and this council hears from the public, we don't know if we're on the right path," he said.
"A more engaged public makes for more accountability and better decisions."
Budget deliberations begin at city council next week. The 2025 operating budget is expected to be ratified Feb. 10.