North Bay 2026 Candidate Answers

For 2027, I would aim to keep the tax levy increase in the 3–4% range, with a clear breakdown of how much is driven by City operations versus external partners, and how much is offset by reserves and growth in assessment. This can only be speculative until we have more details.

I support dedicating future casino revenues to paying down the Community Centre debenture. Doing that could free up approximately $1.2 million annually that can be redirected toward road investments.

We need to stay the course on infrastructure funding. I support continuing the dedicated capital levy increase of 1% plus CPI so we keep building a sustainable funding source for roads, water, and infrastructure.

We cannot ask North Bay taxpayers to carry the entire burden alone. Strong relationships with our MPP, our MP, and senior levels of government are essential. I'll continue strongly advocating for infrastructure funding because every outside dollar we secure means less pressure on local taxpayers.

We need to get smarter about how we maintain roads. That means examining best practices from other municipalities, investing in preventative maintenance, and using technologies and approaches that extend the life of asphalt so we're protecting the investments we've already made.

We currently underspend on our roads, largely because annual budget allocations have not kept pace with rising costs for materials. Rather than continuing with a patchwork approach, we need a systematic, data-driven strategy. By using modern technology, such as annual drone surveys, instead of waiting five years between assessments, we can make smarter, targeted investments.

We must also maximize and reallocate funding from other levels of government. For example, we fell behind on road and bridge infrastructure when $9 million in gas tax funds was redirected to the arena project. We need to return to prioritizing essential core infrastructure. On overall tax percentages, my focus during budget deliberations will be on strict fiscal discipline and reallocating existing resources before asking taxpayers for more.