Council is looking at future growth, economic development as well as possible financial cost cutting.
The municipality held a special growth and recovery strategy session last night through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A common theme among the councillors was taking a look at potential savings in either cutting or transforming assets and municipal services.
“I believe there are no sacred cows,” said Chatham councillor Karen Kirkwood-Whyte, when it came to possible service level reductions.
The majority of councillors said they would be open to reducing services as long as there is community input.
Councillor Doug Sulman said service levels should be looked at and modernized, as well as re-purposing assets to save money.
Others said there are various ways council can save money.
“When we look at the budget when we have our budget deliberations, we have to look deeper into where we are spending our base budget,” said Chatham councillor Michael Bondy.
Mike Grail, co-chair of the recovery task force, said the municipality now has a chance to take a close look at service levels, saying now was a good time to move away from the status quo and look at reducing service levels.
“We see (COVID) as an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to reflect and to ask; what do we need to continue to do, what can stop doing, and how can we do things differently in order to improve?”
Grail urged council to consider efficiencies, effectiveness and cost savings by looking at consolidating and re-purposing buildings and services.
Other priorities that the task force advised the municipality to look at included considering closing the infrastructure gap and rationalizing staffing requirements to reflect current economic realities and future needs. They also advised council to keep taxes and future tax increases low.
The task force also recommends accelerating access to high-speed internet across Chatham-Kent.
