Following five community open houses and three Council Budget Committee meetings, on Tuesday, February 5 Chatham-Kent Council passed the 2019 municipal budget.
Municipal officials said in a press release the budget includes a 1.99% tax increase, which included a $4,088,000 investment in infrastructure, $387,000 for increased Community Partnership funding, new investments to support the CKPlan2035 Environmental Sustainability area of strategic focus, debt reduction and sustainable investments in many services.
The increase is under the 2018 Canada inflation rate of 2.3%.
It represents approximately a $57 increase on an average home assessment of $168,300, municipal officials stated.
After the recommendations were presented to Council by the municipal administration on January 16, Council and administration held Community Open Houses to gather input from citizens on the recommendations. Public meetings were held in Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Dresden, Blenheim and Chatham. Comments were also received by e-mail.
During the development of the 2019 budget, 968 residents visited the “Have Your Say on the 2019 Budget” survey, which was an on-line budget consultation tool to gauge community concerns.
Budget Chair Councillor Brock McGregor said the budget contains a good mix of community investment and fiscal responsibility.
“Council realized the importance of funding infrastructure and paying down debt while at the same time making sure the increase is as low as possible,” he said in a media release.
“Our municipality, like any organization, faces inflationary pressures but we were wise enough to realize that we can’t abandon a course which has seen us closing the gap on infrastructure spending and debt reduction for the sake of a zero tax increase.”
Mayor Darrin Canniff said it was important for council to demonstrate faith in the community through investment.
“I have heard repeatedly that we need to ensure we’re taking action to make sure that we don’t reduce services and we spend strategically to strengthen Chatham-Kent.”
Canniff noted that every dollar invested through such programs as the Community Partnership Fund multiplies several times over in benefitting Chatham-Kent.
“It takes all of us to build a community and if council can help kick-start a project that improves quality of life or has economic spin-off, it’s a worthy investment.”
For more information on the 2019 Municipality of Chatham-Kent budget, visit Chatham-Kent.ca/budget.
