Thunder Bay's Future is Now

Mayor Keith Hobbs gave his first State of the City address and points to economic growth, community safety and building partnerships as priorities.  Hobbs says he wants to build the city's population base to 150 thousand people to help increase the tax base and make balancing the budget easier.  Hobbs says people in Thunder Bay can't afford any more increases in their property taxes.  He says one possible way to keep taxes down and tackle the rising infrastructure deficit could be to use the city's reserve funds to cover some of the infrastructure needs.  Hobbs also says developing a community policing plan would go a long way towards making the city's streets safer.  Another important issue according to the Mayor is the importance of building relationships with our neighbours especially the First Nations.  Hobbs says Thunder Bay could one day become a First Nations Community and we need to work together to ensure a prosperous future.