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
'Shameful': Monument honouring fallen soldiers included names of living veterans
Veterans are asking for answers after discovering that two sculptures in Ontario honouring fallen soldiers include the names of many people who are very much alive.
'If it ain't broke don't fix it': U.S. ambassador warns Canada against cutting Mexico out of trilateral trade deal
Cutting Mexico out of the current North American free trade deal 'may not be the best path to take,' says U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen.
Canada's air force took video of object shot down over Yukon, updated image released
The Canadian military has released more details and an updated image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023.
Cookie inflation: How much more is your holiday baking costing you this year?
Estimate how much more your Christmas cookies will cost to bake this year compared to the past five years using Statistics Canada's monthly average retail price data.
Smash and grab: Canada sees a spike in jewelry store robberies
Many cities across Canada are seeing a spike in jewelry store robberies in recent months.
Invasive species could be hiding in your Christmas decor. Here's how to stop the spread
Make sure to look through your holiday decorations, as Christmas trees, wreaths, and other natural decor can have invasive insects, eggs, and plants that pose a threat to local ecosystems and the economy.
This watch was carved from a meteorite that hit Earth a million years ago
A new watch from design duo Toledano & Chan has been carved from a meteorite that slammed into Earth around one million years ago.
Police find bag carried by gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, say he likely fled NYC on bus
Investigators found a backpack in Central Park that was carried by the shooter, police said Friday, following a massive sweep to find it in a vast area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and a densely wooded section called 'The Ramble.'
A police photographer recounts the harrowing day of the Polytechnique massacre
Montreal crime scene photographer Harold Rosenberg witnessed a lot of horror over his 30 years on the job, though nothing of the magnitude of what he captured with his lens at the Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989. He described the day of the Montreal massacre to CTV Quebec Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin.