Young people who provided their input summed it up this way: "Nice roads are great, but they have to lead somewhere." They talked about the importance of economic development and the environment; about building a healthy community; about enhancing our image here at home and abroad. They reminded us that this budget must be as forward looking as it is inward looking.

Key themes that emerged from the public input meetings - the most extensive consultations ever undertaken by the City - provided a starting point to establish a framework to guide budget decisions.  When asked to rank priorities, citizens voted against reducing or eliminating municipal services. In fact, many said the City should be improving or adding services, not taking them away. With public input sessions now complete, City Council began its budget deliberations on March 3rd by establishing priorities, before moving into the budget document or looking at detailed options. 

The following priorities were adopted by City Council: City infrastructure - rebuilding our roads; City finances - containing the escalating operating costs through efficiencies and fully developing the City's Continuous Improvement Program (CIP) with a ‘no layoff' policy; Community's future - focusing on assessment growth; and Community services - considering community facilities.

This guiding framework will help focus budget discussions,  positioning the budget within a broader community context. We said at the outset of this process that the budget isn't just about dollars and cents. It's about quality of life and life in our community. Citizens value their quality of life in the City of Greater Sudbury. That message came across loud and clear during the second series of public input meetings.

It is customary for Council to set a target at the outset of budget discussions to help guide staff and that target, for many years, has been zero. This year, Council set a target of a tax increase of 7 per cent, down from the 11.5 per cent that it would cost to maintain existing programs and services.

While citizens have said that they would support a  reasonable tax increase if services are maintained or increased, a double digit tax increase is clearly not acceptable. Citizens of Greater Sudbury, particularly our seniors and those on fixed incomes, have a limited ability to support a large municipal tax increase. It is our goal to keep tax increases as low as possible without compromising our ability to grow and prosper.

Of the main messages that emerged during the public input sessions, "seeking ongoing efficiencies" was repeated time and time again.  Over the past two years, $11 million in efficiencies have been implemented through cost reductions, cost avoidances and additional revenues, so we're on the right track.

But more needs to be done to contain our escalating operating costs, through use of technology, new ways of doing business and alternative service delivery. We also need to find new sources of revenue - long-term sources of revenue. The goal is to become a self-sustaining community as outlined in the Long-Term Financial Plan. Citizens can be assured that we will continue to make a strong case for stable funding to senior levels of government as we forge ahead to obtain a ‘new deal' for municipalities. City's receive only six cents on every dollar raised through taxes.

With roads remaining a top priority, City Council  has directed staff to prepare a report which details how the capital contribution to roads can be doubled over the next three years. We all know that our infrastructure is aging. Our roads program is badly underfunded and it becomes more and more expensive to repair roads as their condition deteriorates.

Capital funding for roads has been reduced by 50 percent since 1995 as a result of the loss of road subsidies from the Province. The City of Greater Sudbury currently allocates $9.3 million a year towards road capital construction and reconstruction. That's a far cry from the $23 million needed annually.

Having a sound infrastructure, such as good roads, is critical to attracting investment to our community. Unlike Southern Ontario municipalities which are experiencing rapid growth, Greater Sudbury is not. There is little new money from assessment. Little growth, coupled with ever-increasing operating costs and limited revenue, has seriously hampered the City of Greater Sudbury's ability to respond to local needs.

We need to re-double our efforts to promote economic development to build a stronger assessment base and create jobs. This has begun with the implementation of a new economic development strategic plan for the City of Greater Sudbury. Clearly, we need to grow our way out of our financial problems.

Having viable community facilities is also critical to attracting investment to our City and to maintaining quality of life in our community. Families thinking of relocating to Sudbury want to know that there are hockey rinks, soccer fields, and ball parks for their children as much as good schools with extra-curricular activities. And citizens, during community consultations, consistently talked about the importance of arenas, pools, and ski hills to their everyday lives and the everyday lives of their children, family and friends.

Council has some tough decisions ahead as it attempts to set this year's budget. The key themes that emerged during public consultations, however, will go a long way towards focussing the debate  and, on behalf of Council, I would like to thank everyone who provided input. We value the feedback.