Chatham-Kent council approves 5.64 per cent tax increase
Chatham-Kent council has approved the 2023 budget with a 5.64 per cent tax increase.
Council held several nights of budget deliberations, bringing the tax hike down from a proposed 6.35 per cent increase.
The vote for approval for 9-8 at Wednesday night’s meeting.
"So Chatham-Kent residents, residential tax-payers can expect for the average household $178 increase for the year
Ward 6 councillor and budget chair Brock McGregor told AM800 News it is one of the higher budgets he's seen in many years.
"In the time that I've been there, and unless we see some significant contributions from the provincial government, we're in for a couple of difficult budget seasons in the upcoming three years as well," said McGregor.
He said infrastructure spending was a major contributor to the increase in spending.
"It was a pretty bare bones budget with some very significant inflationary pressures,” he said. “A large portion of the increase was made up by that inflation on infrastructure spending as well as some general increases to infrastructure spending. Like most communities in Ontario, we're facing a pretty significant infrastructure deficit."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.