LaSalle has set its 2018 tax increase at one per cent and instructed administration to find reductions to meet that target.
LaSalle commits to 1% tax hike in 2018
Julie Kotsis, Windsor Star
Mayor Ken Antaya during a LaSalle council meeting at Town Hall July 11, 2017.
LaSalle has set its 2018 tax increase at one per cent and instructed administration to find reductions to meet that target.
Mayor Ken Antaya said the one per cent increase translates to about $25 more on the annual tax bill for the owner of an average home valued at $250,000.
Councillors met all day Wednesday to discuss the proposed budget, which included a 1.75 per cent tax increase. That was a decrease from the original proposal in October that called for a 2.84 per cent increase.
The reduction was attributed to amendments to Ontario’s Bill 148 that will see the minimum wage rate rise to $14 on Jan. 1 as well as other changes to workplace rules.
Deputy treasurer Dale Langlois had said the town budgeted for a worse-case scenario of an increase of about $700,000 to its bottom line before the amendments were made to the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act.
Antaya said administration will have to work hard to find three-quarters of a percentage point in savings — around $225,000 — in a budget totalling about $40 million.
“I’m not quite sure where we’ll find the savings,” Antaya said. “When you start saying, well it’s a $40-million budget, you should be able to find $225,000, it’s a very tight budget so there are certain initiatives that may have to suffer.
“Or maybe we might have overestimated an expense somewhere. Administration is going to pare it down and see what they can do.”
Antaya praised his staff for their work. He also attributed the rather quick budget deliberations – one day rather than the three days that had been set aside – to the fact councillors received the preliminary budget document the first week of November.
They were then able to pore through the document for six weeks and seek further information or clarification where needed.
“It’s a very long document but its something that provides a lot of history to them and it’s a learning tool, too,” he said.
“It’s something that really provides them information on where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Comments
We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.