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Timmins Taxpayers Association weighs in on $3.5 million dollar concert series

"Stop treating taxpayers like they are bank machines."
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STATEMENT

TIMMINS TAX PAYERS ASSOCIATION

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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 it 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 favour of the same day it was introduced quietly to the public. 

We don’t recall this being part of anyone‟s election platform. 

“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.”

“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. 

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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