The proposed tax levy increase in Windsor’s draft 2019 budget is 3.3 per cent.
That works out to another $90 on the annual tax bill for the average home owner in the city, but it’s a number Mayor Drew Dilkens feels they can whittle down.
"It'll be lower. We'll find a way to get it lower,” says Dilkens. “We’re still well below the provincial average.”
But where the cuts will take place will be a difficult task for council.
The Windsor capital budget features a recommended seven-year plan with $845-million in spending. The bulk of that is being recommended for roads and sewers.
Dilkens says the highlight of that total in 2019 is a 42 per cent increase for various sewer projects to combat basement flooding.
“We have to pay for this somehow folks. This won't happen for free, and we're not going to correct this in a year, but we have to start,” says Dilkens.
The road projects focuses on improvements to Banwell, Ypres and Provincial Road south of Cabana.
The mayor also wants to put a big emphasis on economic development, branding and marketing to ensure local employers have the talent to fill jobs.
“I don't want any employer to come to me and say I can't find the people to work,” says Dilkens. “I want them to say I can find everybody, I'm having success, in fact, how do you help us grow?"
The recommended budget also syphons more money into a contingency fund, fully finances the Meadowbrook affordable housing development and sets aside $500,000 for emergency shelter services.
“No one needs to sleep on the street in the City of Windsor, never, because the city will make sure there's a place for everyone who's experiencing homelessness,” adds Dilkens.
Dilkens tells CTV Windsor some of the greatest budget pressures are from agencies, boards and commission requests, which make up more than half of the recommended 3.3 per cent tax hike.
That includes paying for 12 additional police officers, a number Dilkens doesn't want to see cut.
“Policing for me, that's a hard no,” insists Dilkens. “And to me, we've made responsible decisions to come up with this number."
Two days of deliberations are scheduled to begin April 1.
