Social media circles, fellow councillors and now the Timmins Taxpayers Association have come out against a decision to spend over $3.5 million dollars on an eight day festival to celebrate Canada Day 2017.

The following are a couple letters, sent in full by city councillor Rick Dubeau and by the TTA.

DUBEAU LETTER

“In regards to the fireworks competition and concerts, I am still very strong in the opinion that this is not a reasonable and practicable idea.  I will not get into the numbers, this has been reported by all and on social media.

“What I would like to focus on is the lack of transparency and accountability at the council table.  The Mayor and administration have a habit of bringing issues to council then calling for a vote on them on the same night.  This is not how council meetings are supposed to work.  We have committee of the whole meetings at which matters are discussed.  Then the issues are supposed to be brought to a subsequent regular meeting for a vote.  Council then has time to think about the issues, about the opinions of other members of council and to listen to and garner feedback from the public.  This issue did not require a decision at this meeting.  The public was told of this festival for the first time last night.  This festival provides for significant financial risk to the city of Timmins.  The taxpayers should have been consulted and had an opportunity to express their opinions.  I believe that this demonstrates a lack of respect for the public that we are accountable too.

“The Municipal Act and our own Accountability and Transparency policy provide direction to council to actively encourage and foster stakeholder participation in its decision making process.  To engage its stakeholders throughout its decision making process which will be open, visible and transparent to the public.  This decision making process has not been transparent.  Council had a couple of closed door meetings to discuss some of the ideas brought forth and our options going forward.  It was decided that further investigation was warranted.  Council heard nothing more until the Mayor sent out an email last Friday detailing his plan.  The resolution detailing the cost of the festival was the only resolution not included in the public council package on Friday.  It was only added to the package yesterday morning at my request.  Had the media and public learned of the proposed cost of the event on Friday, I believe the taxpayers of Timmins would have had a very interesting weekend and last night’s meeting might have been much different.

“On another even more important note, which was brought to my attention by a taxpayer and has been lost in the rhetoric.  Canada Day is a day for all of the citizens of Canada to celebrate our great nation.  It is a day when people from all backgrounds come together.  Most cities, Timmins included, have always focused on providing Canada Day celebrations that can be enjoyed by all, celebrating our inclusiveness as a country.  This has been provided to the citizens of Timmins free of charge for many years thanks to the great generosity of our corporate citizens.  The fireworks scheduled for our Canada Day on July 1/17 is not an inclusive event and it quite simply divides our population.  Those who can afford or choose to pay the $150 or $200 price will be much closer to the fireworks.  Those who cannot or do not choose to pay will literally be outside the fence looking in.  One could argue that we are segregating a large portion of our population based on their ability to pay.  This goes against all the values of Canada and its citizens.  Is this what we want to celebrate?  If this goes forward, my family and I will be on the outside of the fence looking in.”

TTA LETTER

The Timmins Taxpayer Association (TTA) thinks it?s time to ask what is council’s real agenda. Is it leaving a mark on history or trying to keep our taxes lower and spending our money wisely?

It wasn?t that long ago they spent more than $100,000 to get KPMG?s advice on how to save money and lower spending. And then we had this week’s big announcement…

The week of Canada’s 150th birthday will see most towns and cities having their own events. So Timmins City Council quickly passed a motion to spend $3.5 million for an exclusive eight-day fireworks celebration and concert series. This is what they voted in favor of the same day it was introduced quietly to the public. We don?t recall this being part of anyone?s election platform.

“I woke up this morning and watched the suddenly-introduced fireworks part of the most recent council meeting and I thought it was April 1,” said TTA member Alex Szczebonski. “We believe that everyone in this city enjoys concerts, live entertainment and fireworks, but this is simply too much risk right now for the taxpayers of Timmins to take on.”

Council wouldn’t even accept Councillor Campbell’s resolution to defer for one week to get public input. Is it possible they may have had lots of pushback from the public? Timmins City Council has approved $3.5 million to host the eight-day festival. It will cost $20 – $50 per person per day to enter the concert venue, $100 to $150 on Canada Day and $200 per person for a week pass.

No problem, says Mayor Steve Black in a nod to the people who won?t be able to afford the bulk of activities, “The first weekend, as it works, we try and start off the first couple days to be lower cost of entry, so as many members of the community can get out, as possible,” said Black. It was sprung on council and approved Monday, but Mayor Black knew about this possibility some time ago.

According to the TimminsToday website, Black was on record as saying, “Quite some months ago, they (David Whysall Fireworks of Niagara Falls) had approached me and asked if we’d be interested in possibly putting on an international fireworks show,” said Black. “We’re looking at having an eight-country festival.” Keep in mind that every taxpayer of Timmins is paying for this multi-million dollar bet, if of course, there are no municipal cost over-runs. To cover this “base cost? is approximately $170 per household.

According to the city?s presentation, the organizers are counting on 44,500 attendees over eight days to break even:

  • Day 1: 3,000 at $20
  • Day 2: 3,000 at $20
  • Day 3: 3,000 at $25
  • Day 4: 4,000 at $40
  • Day 5: 6,000 at $50
  • Day 6: 5,000 at $30
  • Day 7: 5,000 at $30
  • Canada Day: 7,500 at $150
  • All week pass: 8,000 at $200

Timmins population is roughly 43,000 people. If you are optimistic and think that even half the population will attend, then doesn?t that mean we are relying on more than 20,000 tourists to attend?

We understand that local businesses will benefit from this, if the event is successful. However council is asking the taxpayers to take a huge risk investing in this event AND to pay up to $200 for tickets.

Considering the taxpayers are bearing all the risk, maybe any potential profits from this event should go directly to offset our taxes. Just a thought to add, Kirkland Lake always kicks off summer with a concert on the weekend before July with two big names (last summer it was the Arkells and the guy from Great Big Sea, the year before it was the Hip). So this would be some major competition.

We paid for a KPMG Core Services Review not even one year ago that told city council specifically to, “Stop treating your taxpayers like they are bank machines.” We would also ask that you seek public input before making these big decisions, whether it is good or bad, is it not important to hear from the very people that elected you to represent us?

The city has held public meetings for various items over the last year. We ask that a public meeting be held immediately to answer some of the questions that have been asked on social media and within the community. Where will any profits go? What if we do not hit the projected numbers? Why isn?t the tourism department organizing this event? Where will all of these tourists sleep? These are just some of the questions that deserve answers especially considering the festival was quickly approved by Council without any public input.

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