2026 Budget

• City's levy $19.2M, up 3.3% ($619K). TBDSSAB's total budget is $133.1M with a $27.4M levy to all district municipalities.
• Funds Child Care and Early Years, Community Housing, Homelessness Prevention, and Ontario Works delivery across the district.
• ABCs (agencies, boards, commissions) collectively represent 44% of the 2026 Municipal Tax Levy.

• Total budget $75.6M (operations), up $5.4M — the single largest increase of any service. Personnel costs are $68.7M.
• Adding 18 new positions including 8 constables, 4 special constables, and a social navigator. Total staff growing to 410.8 FTEs.
• 88% of residents in the 2024 Community Satisfaction Survey cited increased police presence as the most important safety action.

• Total budget $44.8M, net cost to Thunder Bay $14.7M (up 5.5%). Provincial grants cover $26.3M. Staff of 240.8 FTEs.
• Launched STAR Team (Specialized Treatment and Alternate Response) in mid-2025 for mental health and addiction crisis response.
• All paramedics completed "The Working Mind" first responders resiliency training in Fall 2025. Focus on recruitment, retention, and well-being.

• Corporate Expenditures $15.9M includes city insurance, corporate grants, and miscellaneous.
• City Manager's Department $11.3M: HR ($5.5M), City Solicitor ($1.9M), City Clerk ($2.7M), Customer Service ($0.4M).
• Growth Department $8.4M: Development Services ($3.8M), Strategy & Engagement ($2.8M), Communications ($0.8M).

• Total budget $39.2M, net cost $38.4M. General wage increases account for $1.66M of the $1.7M increase.
• Advancing lifecycle planning for the public safety radio system and aerial apparatus replacement.
• Expanding risk-reduction strategies using Community Risk Assessment findings; finalizing updated City Emergency Plan.

Note: Medical calls being the largest category is standard practice — NFPA data shows ~65% of U.S. fire department calls are medical. Canadian departments follow the same model: fire stations are distributed for rapid response and firefighters are trained as first responders. NFPA

• Staff growing from 138.7 to 175.1 FTEs (+36.4), largely from Central Support Services Review redistributing staff across divisions.
• Finance division nearly tripled from 14 to 44 FTEs through realignment, adding Manager Financial Reporting, Grants Coordinator, and Revenue Analyst.
• Licensing & Enforcement adding 8 Municipal Law Enforcement Officers (6 MLEOs + 2 supervisors), fully funded through increased OMPF.

• Total budget $24.6M, net cost $15.5M. Fare revenue $7.3M (up 5.3%). Staff of 142.6 FTEs.
• "Transforming Transit" initiative underway: developing improved transit service model and introducing advanced scheduling software for On-Demand and Microtransit.
• Fleet includes 48 conventional transit buses and 27 specialized Lift+ buses. Purchased services up 23.4% due to new service planning contracts.

• Parks & Open Spaces $10.3M: 73 playgrounds, 64 ball diamonds, 83 soccer fields, 2,070 hectares of parkland.
• Solid Waste & Recycling $9.3M: transitioning to auto-cart waste collection with 3 recycling depots.
• Engineering $4.1M: road design, traffic studies, infrastructure planning. Up 48.3% due to staff expansion.

• Total budget $20.8M, net cost $11.7M (up 3.5%). Staff growing from 127.8 to 142.3 FTEs (+14.5).
• New Tbaytel Multiplex opening in 2026 with indoor turf fields — driving 7.5 new FTEs and $267K in new operating costs.
• Beginning development of a new Recreation, Parks & Facilities Master Plan. PRO Kids program expanding with a new placement officer.

• Total budget $18.7M, net cost $18.5M (up 1.9%). Staff of 90.4 FTEs.
• New live snowplow tracking portal launching winter 2026 with GPS technology so residents can see which streets have been plowed in real time.
• Deploying AI-enabled vehicle-mounted cameras for road and infrastructure inspections. Salt budget decreased $200K based on recent experience.

• Library: 500,000+ book loans and ~270,000 in-person visits in 2025. Program attendance grew 37%. Launching AI Literacy workshops.
• Library adding security guards at all branches in response to safety concerns. Net cost $7.5M (up 4.3%), adding 2 security-related FTEs.
• Development Services adding 3 new FTEs including a Coordinator for Vacant & Dilapidated Buildings Program (grant-funded).

• Long-Term Care $6.4M: Pioneer Ridge (150-bed facility) and Jasper Place (110-bed supportive housing). 236.1 FTEs.
• Facilities Services $1.0M: maintains all city-owned buildings and infrastructure.
• Fleet Services $0.6M net cost: maintains 520+ fleet assets. $17.1M total budget mostly recovered from other departments.