With several local service centres possibly facing the chopping block next week, Chatham-Kent’s mayor is hopeful for an outcome that benefits everyone.
A customer service review report was presented to CK Council on June 20, which recommended shutting down underutilized service centres in Dresden, Ridgetown and Tilbury, as well as the Wheatley, Thamesville and Bothwell municipal information desks.
According to the report, closing the municipal service offices would save taxpayers up to $173,000 a year.
However, the report garnered a significant response from residents with 105 deputations submitted in opposition to the closures. The deputations took almost two hours to be read by municipal staff, prompting council to postpone further discussion on the issue until the upcoming meeting on Monday, July 11.
Mayor Darrin Canniff said he believes council will be able to find a middle ground that appeases local residents.
“We need to cut costs to keep costs low [due to] the demand to keep taxes low and make sure we’re efficient,” he said. “But we need to keep the services in the communities and I always look at how do we improve services by combining them in the community.”
While the report indicates more many residents are increasingly using municipal services online for services such as paying bills or getting permits, concerns were expressed that area seniors in particular would suffer from the loss of the service centres
Canniff said that while part of council’s discussion will include how to better offer the municipal services online, that does not necessarily mean removing the in-person services altogether.
“I think that’s what the discussion needs to be; how do we improve services and be more efficient doing it,” said Canniff.
