With infrastructure costs at the forefront, Chatham-Kent staff is recommending a 2.27% tax increase this year in their 2018 draft budget.
The document was presented to council during a special meeting on Wednesday evening at the Civic Centre, which was also broadcasted in real-time on Facebook live.
Wallaceburg Coun. Jeff Wesley told the Sydenham Current that Wednesday’s meeting was a good start.
“The 2.27 % increase presented by staff, lower debt levels, money to infrastructure and mitigating the impacts of Bill 148 (minimum wage increase) was a good base to start from,” Wesley said.
The draft budget includes a 1% increase in annual infrastructure funding.
The proposed 2.27% increase, which is not the final number, works out to an additional $64 annually on a house assessed at $165,500. For a full budget overview, click here.
Last year, council approved a 1.96% tax increase.
“There is a lot of work to do yet,” Wesley said.
“We always need to keep in front of us that many seniors, single parent families and small businesses continue to struggle and any tax increase is a burden on them and many more. Also, in Chatham-Kent our average annual income is low compared to other communities and therefore any tax increase will have a negative impact here as well. Now it is up to council to get to work and see how we can lower it even more.”
Chatham Coun. Derek Robertson, the budget chair, said this will be the final budget for this term of council.
“I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made over the course of these last three years together,” he said.
“I’m confident that we’ll have the same sort of productive budget session here in 2018.”
Prior to budget deliberations starting January 30, council and administration will be holding community open houses to gather input from the public on the recommendations and any other budget matter.
The meeting details are as follows:
Tuesday, January 23, 4:30 p.m. to 6 pm
Ridgetown Municipal Office, 45 Main Street E., Ridgetown; and
Tilbury Arena, Ryder Hall, 55 Bond Ave., Tilbury
Wednesday, January 24, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Blenheim High School Cafeteria, 163 Chatham St. S., Blenheim; and
Wallaceburg Municipal Office, 786 Dufferin Ave., Wallaceburg
Thursday, January 25, 4:30 pm to 6 pm
Active Lifestyle Centre, 20 Merritt Avenue, Chatham
The format of these sessions are as follows:
– Open house with one on one discussions with administration and council from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
– Brief presentation and question and answer period as a group from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“I would encourage everyone to come out to the Wallaceburg budget open house,” Wesley said.
“You will learn about what is in the budget, be able to share your thoughts and I will be there and I look forward to speaking with you.”
The budget committee deliberations are scheduled for January 30, 31 and February 1, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Civic Centre in Chatham.
For more details, click here.
