Windsor councillors prepare to tackle 'really difficult' budget

City councillors are preparing to tackle one of Windsor's toughest operating budgets in years, as inflation, higher costs and revenue losses have resulted in a proposed 5.23 per cent tax hike.

"When you look at a whole bunch of things that impact our municipal budget, whether it be fuel or supplies or construction contracts, we're facing similar pressures, which are contributing to this year's budget estimates," said the city's chief financial officer Joe Mancina.

Spending is expected to increase by $23 million over last year, with city department operating needs accounting for $13.2 million of that.

Administration came up with nearly $10.4 million in proposed cuts and revenue generators, but even with those measures in place, the proposed tax increase is the largest in recent memory.

Some of the recommendations include:

• Increasing user fees for parks and facilities.
• Charging $20 for the rodent control program (it is currently free).
• Extending operational times on parking meters from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• A 7.6 per cent increase in legal user fees.
• Increase Transit Windsor's advertising revenue. 

This year, all 10 councillors will convene on Jan. 23 as an Operating Budget Review Committee to determine where the efficiencies can be found before finalizing the budget in April.

Political watcher Daniel Ableser believes the committee will be able to do a "deeper dive" into the budget to get the 5.23 per cent number down to half of inflation. The most recent inflation rate was 6.8 per cent.

"I think that would be a really excellent result for this council. This is a really difficult budget, but I do think that that's possible given the history that we've seen of the budget that gets tabled by administration for as compared to what council gets to at the end of the day," said Ableser.

A great deal of the budget items with expenditures had no description in the draft budget. They were listed as in-camera, meaning they will be discussed confidentially, leaving Ableser to wonder about the reasoning behind a couple of larger ones.

"The largest one was a $4.8-million item that's listed in corporate accounts for the budget. A $4.8-million item is really about a 1.25 per cent property levy increase," said Ableser. "So I'm curious what that $4.8 million per year ongoing in perpetuity is and it's surprising to see that in corporate accounts."

When it comes to the operating budget, Coun. Kieran McKenzie (Ward 9) says his constituents have told him they do not want to see a reduction in services, particularly transit.

"In order to be able to continue to maintain the service delivery at the levels that they're at, we're going to have to also respond to the inflationary pressures that have been put upon us just like they've been put upon every single person across the community," said McKenzie.

"The budget process that we're engaged in this year is entirely new and is going to give us an even greater opportunity with a longer runway to look for all of those opportunities to find efficiencies and potential cost savings where they may be there," he said, adding he is not ready to say what tax increase he is comfortable with.

Meanwhile, Coun. Renaldo Agostino (Ward 3) who represents the downtown core, is adamant he will not support extending the operating hours on parking meters from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

"Because now what you're saying to the dinner crowd is, 'Hey. Think about going somewhere else that has a parking lot,'" said Agostino.

While Ableser believes council can achieve a 3.4 per cent tax hike this time, he suggests council consider conducting a service delivery review during this term.

"Those are where you might find things that can be rejigged to find savings over time," he said.

Impact of COVID-19

The city is also still grappling with more expenses and losses related to the pandemic.

Staff anticipate that revenue from the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, Windsor International Airport and Caesars Windsor will fall short by millions. At the same time, there were expenses related to COVID-19 such as personal protective equipment.

Overall, COVID-19 impacts are pegged at nearly $7.6 million, according to city estimates provided along with the draft budget.

These figures are over and above what's included in city's operating budget draft. They aren't included as part of the budget since they are "significantly one-time in nature."

According to the document, they will be dealt with through budget stabilization reserves if necessary.