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Have just taken a closer look at the city's core review report. It's not all that surprising what the consultants have come up with. As @RBonazzo said, these are recommendations only, nothing set in stone.
They're recommending selling Port Arthur Stadium (not necessarily closing it). Same with Jumbo Gardens Community Centre.
They also suggest a thorough review of the Canada Games Complex, potentially increasing user fees to help cut the deficit, while also cutting some underutilized services to save money.
Consultants are recommending the city divest itself of the Conservatory, but suggest it might be possible to sell it to a private entity. Would save about $349K a year, plus up to $3.1 million in renovations needed to keep it open to the public.
Could charge about $10 admission, based on 32,000 visits, to help cut the cost (but realistically, that would cut the number of users). The vast majority of the public respondents to the public survey do not want the city to divest.
Report says city should close both remaining municipal golf courses, to save a whopping $100,000 annually. They say the land can be sold, repurposed or naturalized. Closed, they would still cost the city $300K to maintain.
Consultants would like to see the city move to an automated water meter reading system, at a cost of $12 million, but would bring in $1.67 million more in revenue and save $300K in operational costs.
Outdoor rinks cost $710 a year to operate. The report suggests a 21 per cent decrease in rinks, which amounts to eight sheets.
Report notes some departments have too many managers, a frequent complaint of the @tbnewswatch comment brigade.
Public input shows a call for more leaf and yard waste collections and the addition of compost pick-up.
See the full report here. https://www.thunderbay.ca/en/city-hall/resources/Documents/Mayor-and-Council/Additional-Info---Thurs-June-17-for-Mon-June-22.pdf
