Windsor working to lower potential tax increase

Many sectors and Transit Windsor may feel the pinch as the finance committee budget review looks for ways to lower the proposed property tax increase for 2025.

“It has to go lower than six (per cent),” said Janice Guthrie, Commissioner of Finance and City Treasurer following a morning session at City Hall.

Administrators don’t have a magic number but feel the current potential tax increase needs to be lower than 6.04 per cent.

“We understand that residents cannot endure a 6 per cent property tax increase,” she said.

When these discussions began, the city was looking at a tax increase of 12.9 per cent. So far, that number has been cut by more than half.

Councillors Jim Morrison, Fred Francis and Gary Kaschak are helping to delve into the growth of the city looking for efficiencies in the planning and building departments as well as economic development and engineering.

“Those are really our growth areas that we don't want to reduce,” Morrison said.

The group did find some efficiencies totaling about $1 million in savings, including roughly $850,000 through fuel costs at Transit Windsor.

“That's a nice piece of savings that wasn't looked at before and wasn't reduced,” said Morrison, who assures residents transit services won’t be reduced and may even see some enhancements.

Tweaks to transit may affect personnel, according to Morrison.

“Anything you do for changing a service like transit, you're affecting the bus drivers and administration and everything else, so those have to stay in camera until they're approved,” he said.

Guthrie said some users’ fees may have to be adjusted to help lower the budget pressures while exploring revenue options.

“Looking at opportunities that maybe we haven't really further explored, such as advertising, such as selling our assets,” she said.

The results from the finance committees’ work will be presented to the mayor in a week, according to Guthrie, and then a proposed budget will be released early in the new year.

Council will have 30 days to make any amendments.

“We do have to find efficiencies,” Guthrie said.

“We have to find cuts to service if that's what it means to keep the tax levy increase to something that is reasonable.”