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Every four years, Timmins residents go to the polls to elect their city councillors.

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Representative democracy, as it is known, describes this act of delegating someone else to make decisions for you. It evolved as a more convenient system in a world where voters are generally too busy with work, friends and family to read hundreds of pages of municipal reports and regularly attend four-hour town hall meetings.

On the other hand, direct democracy assumes that citizens care passionately about the decisions made in parliament and city council chambers and want to have their say.

When it comes to deciding what the City of Timmins should spend its money on next year, 1,296 citizens wanted to make their voices heard.

Out of a total population of 44,819, this was the number of local residents who completed the Budget 2025 survey, which went online between September 16 and October 31 and took an average of 4 minutes to complete.

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It was the second year the city offered the survey, and participation was up from 777 respondents last year.

The city’s operating and capital budget for 2025 will be just over $51 million.

The city is conducting the survey online in an effort to increase public engagement and better align the city’s goals with those of residents.

According to a municipal finance expert, surveys are an important way to find out what people value.

Dr. Enid Slackdirector of the Institute of Municipal Finance and Governance at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, says polls are part of a suite of tools used by cities to learn what the public cares about (another being when councilors talk directly to their constituents). and should not be seen as giving undue influence to a minority of concerned citizens.

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“I think it’s important to do public consultation for two reasons,” said Slack, who is a member of the International Property Tax Institute’s Advisory Board.

“One is to educate the public about what the budget is, what’s in it, how it changes over time, why property taxes are what they are, but also give them an opportunity to be involved in the process.

“I think it’s not just about getting answers, it’s about giving people an opportunity to say how they feel about city services,” she said.

Slack, who has published several books and articles on property taxes and consults with governments and international agencies such as the World Bank and UN Habitat, said budget surveys can show trends over time.

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For example, respondents to the City of Timmins’ 2025 budget survey selected roads and sidewalks as the top priority municipal service this year and as the second priority in last year’s 2024 budget survey.

“So you start to see trends, and I think that’s also important,” Slack said.

In comparison, in the 2024 Budget Study, safety came first, with roads and sidewalks second.

This year, roads and sidewalks were followed by safety, recreation, parks, and water and wastewater management, in that order.

The survey included a series of questions asking whether the city should increase or decrease spending with municipal tax revenue in key areas.

Most respondents in one category (546) said the city should continue to invest the same amount ($16.7 million) in road maintenance, but more (585) said there should be an increase in spending for road maintenance by the two categories combined of 5 or 10 percent.

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In his presentation at the Nov. 5 budget meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Dave Landers said the increased funding would have to come from other levels of government.

On that front, Timmins MP George Pirie’s office announced on November 6 an investment of $3,894,477 to renew and rehabilitate critical infrastructure in Timmins.

Funding will be provided in 2025 through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF).

Communities can accumulate funding for up to five years to tackle larger infrastructure projects. Pirie’s office said the funding will go toward water and wastewater infrastructure in Timmins.

Most respondents to the 2025 budget survey (660) said the city should continue to invest the same amount ($12 million) in infrastructure and utilities, which includes new roads, water and wastewater.

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Neither Dave Landers nor Natalie Moore, the city’s finance director, was available to confirm whether those provincial funds would be part of or in addition to the $12 million budgeted for infrastructure or utilities in 2025.

Both were out of town for work, city spokeswoman Amanda Dyer said.

The vast majority of respondents (912) said the city should continue to invest the same amount ($900,000) in waste management. This includes hazardous and textile collection.

For parks and recreation, 427 voted to keep $8.2 million in spending the same, although a total of 707 said there should be a 5 or 10 percent increase.

“This is an interesting data point that we will keep in mind,” Landers said.

There appears to be strong support for the city’s plans to increase sports facilities, with 832 respondents in favor of the idea.

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The city’s plans include upgrading the outdoor facilities, adding a full-size cricket pitch, a senior football pitch, dedicated pickleball pitches and a new multi-purpose community recreation complex with an event space, a new swimming pool and ice rinks. NHL size. .

At present, sports teamsaquafit enthusiasts and recreational swimmers from seniors to children will be without water sports for three months when the Archie Dillon Sportsplex pool reopens in December after a manufacturer delay for new boilers.

The existing boilers had not been replaced for 30 years.

Ward 5 participants accounted for 52% (674) of Budget 2025 Survey respondents, most of whom heard about the survey on social media.

Most (54.1 percent) said they “somewhat understand” how their municipal tax dollars are being used and were neutral (460) about the value they were getting for that dollar.

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While 38% of respondents prefer an online budget survey, 28% would like to see public consultation meetings, similar to those of ward meetings took place in 2024 as part of the budget process.

There were also 400 suggestions made anonymously.

The budget survey is now closed, but the public can continue to submit ideas or suggestions regarding the 2025 Municipal Budget to ward councillors whose contact information is available at https://www.timmins.ca/our_services/city_hall/mayor_and_council/city_council.

After councilors have a chance to review and ask questions about the first draft of the city budget presented to them on November 5, a second draft will be presented on November 27, followed by more meetings with final approval by the board in January 2025. .

More information about the budget process can be found here onlineincluding the short video“How Your City Budget Works.”

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