city hallThe city is continuing their budget process, and cuts are coming.

Timmins Mayor Steve Black says Tuesday night’s meeting was probably the “most productive meeting of the term so far.”

Instead of a 4.5% increase, the city is now dealing with an increase of about 3%.

The big cut was reconstruction of the Hollinger Park parking lot.  The $700,000 project slated for this year has been pushed back and $200,000 will go into a reserve fund for this project in years to come.

This freed $500,000 in one move.

Another is Centennial Hall.

Council decided to take the $160,000 price tag off the books and will instead lease the building, sell it or demolish it.

Plenty of talk went around the feasibility study for a new aquatic centre and multi-use recreational facility.

The focus is on if Timmins were to build this in the future, where it would be located.

Speaking of aquatic centre, get ready to pay more at the Sportsplex pool as the city approved an increase of $1.00 per swim and $10 on an hourly rental to increase revenue streams.

This money will go towards the study.

Garbage talk came about, and while there was some discussion and striking down on bi-weekly garbage pick up, a couple motions were passed.

The weight limit for residents coming to the Deloro Landfill is now 100kg before having to pay a fee.  Previously, it was at 125kg.

On fees, the $5 residential tipping fee that was mentioned at an earlier meeting was ultimately voted down.

The other is to close Deloro on Sundays for six months of the year.  The time frame covers November to April, when the landfill sees much less traffic than in the summer months.  That’s expected to save around $20,000 annually.

While many spending items were trashed by council, others were met with a brick wall.

Things like eliminating Timmins Transit service from 10pm to midnight on Monday through Saturday.

Another item struck down was a hiring freeze.

Many other things will be coming back after staff conducts some reports, like the budget at the museum and library.

Overall, City CAO Joe Torlone commented that council may have broken a record for knocking over $1-million off the books in one night, despite having next to no items on the agenda.

We’ll see how councillors can top this one.

The next budget meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday, March 25th.