Thunder Bay officials are starting to worry about how much money can be raised for the disaster-relief fund after the floods of May 28.

The city's relief fund needs to raise $5 million by the fall to get a two-for-one matching grant from the province that would bring it to $15 million. Less than $1 million has been raised so far.

But people appear to be holding back because the city has yet to produce a report on what went wrong that caused the flooding. That report is due out next month.

City hall is asking people not to wait for that report before donating to the disaster fund.

Coun. Andrew Foulds says the public has to trust the city. He's concerned some residents won't donate to the disaster fund because they feel the city isn't telling all it knows.

"We haven't held back information. I think people would like this to happen right now, but from my perspective, I think the most important thing is that we do a thorough investigation," Foulds said. City manager Tim Commisso won't speculate on what the report will say. But he said an independent consultant will have the information the public wants to know.

"It'll essentially go through the what happened, you know, with respect to the weather, what happened with respect to the [sewage treatment] plant. And, that'll all be part of the report," Commisso said.

Foulds said he's heard of people not donating to the fund, because the city hasn't told people exactly what happened on May 28.

"And I'm a little worried that now, in September, that visual impact of this disaster is no longer there," Foulds said.

Foulds says the public needs to step up, and stop speculating on how the money will get spent. He said every penny will go to homeowners affected by the flood.