Sault Ste. Marie budget hike largest in five years
Sault Ste. Marie has confirmed its budget for 2022, which includes a property tax hike of just more than four per cent, the biggest increase in the last five years.
City council approved the new budget Monday night after getting the police board to rework its costs for the year.
The $500,000 in savings the board found is barely making a dent to the tax hike. City Coun. Lisa Vezeau-Allen said most of the cost is incurred by social services and Algoma Public Health, who are dealing with a poverty crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Say if your taxes are $2,800-$3,000 annually, the cost to that ratepayer per month is under $10," Vezeau-Allen said. "So I feel better that our homelessness population is being taken care of, Algoma Public Health has the tools that it needs."
Council passed a resolution introduced by Vezeau-Allen that allows city administrators to help police in its civilian roles.
She said that will reduce future spending and improve policing.
"It's really, really important from our perspective as the police board and just as a citizen of our community, we want to see police budget dollars go into officers on the ground," Vezeau-Allen said.
City council also approved the purchase of new fare boxes for its buses, with an eye on reducing operating costs. The director of community services said the change will make using the bus easier and eventually lead to an increase in ridership.
"We were experiencing some challenges with respect to proper recording and tracking, so bus drivers would have to manually hit a button so that the fare was tracked," said Brent Lamming.
A buyer has also been found for the M.S. Norgoma, an aging ship that the city has been paying to dock at Algoma Steel since 2019.
Vezeau-Allen said the city isn't getting much up front but will free up $40 per day it's spending to dock the boat.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
N.Y. prosecutors charge Luigi Mangione with murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, court records show
Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Luigi Nicholas Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, according to an online court docket.
Union dropped wage demand to 19% over four years in Canada Post negotiations: CUPW
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has reportedly dropped its wage demand to 19 per cent over four years, CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant told CTV News.
Taxpayer-funded Eras Tour tickets returned by federal minister
While tens of thousands of fans packed Vancouver's BC Place for the last shows of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour this weekend, a federal cabinet minister wasn't one of them.
AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton to receive Nobel Prize in physics today
British Canadian computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton and co-laureate John Hopfield are set to receive their Nobel Prize for physics at a ceremony in Stockholm today.
Sudbury, Ont., family traumatized after hospital said loved one had been released, when in fact they had passed away
Sudbury resident Angela Vitiello says a staff member at Health Sciences North told her that her brother, Allan St. Martin, was released from the hospital late last month when, in fact, he had passed away.
What the upcoming holiday GST relief will mean for consumers
The federal government's GST break will arrive this Saturday, just in time for the last stretch of holiday shopping.
Katie Holmes refutes story about daughter Suri Cruise’s fortune
Katie Holmes has posted a screen grab of a Daily Mail article, which reported that her 18-year old daughter, whose father is Tom Cruise, is now a "millionaire."
Liberal government survives third Conservative non-confidence vote
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's latest attempt to topple the minority Liberal government in a non-confidence vote failed on Monday, thanks to the New Democrats.
Polygamous U.S. sect leader gets 50 years in prison in scheme to orchestrate sex involving children
A polygamist religious leader in the U.S. who claimed more than 20 spiritual “wives” including 10 underage girls was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Monday.