Council approves 1.86% tax increase with ‘compromise’ budget for 2022

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The council approved a “prudent” budget for 2022 calling for a 1.86 percent tax increase on Monday, with most councilors citing the COVID-hit economy as the reason for halting a major expansion of the transit system.

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A minority of councilors advocated spending an additional $ 1 million annually, hiring 12 more drivers and purchasing six new buses to begin the express route 418X east-west along Tecumseh Road and serving the University of Windsor. It is considered the next crucial step for the Transit Master Plan to double the transit service and the number of passengers for 10 years. But a council of 8 to 3 votes voted instead for a $ 75,000 modification of Central Route 3 as a kind of stopgap measure to serve the university’s Lancer Center, which will soon open. Most argued that the 418X is a worthy upgrade, but now is not the time.

“The traffic thing, guys, if we had passed that (418X) today, it would have been the worst business decision I’ve seen a city council make in my years at city hall, trying to plow that kind of money on taxpayers’ backs. . When the number of passengers is 50 percent and you have no idea when that will change, ”Mayor Drew Dilkens told other council members.

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He called the budget fair and reasonable, providing improved services while keeping the cap on taxes even though inflation is 4.7 percent. He referred to the black financial clouds looming across the city, citing 1,100 Caesars Windsor employees not yet working and the pending closure of the afternoon shift at Stellantis.

“It was up to us as the council to say let’s not try to do the things on the wish list this year, let’s do what we have to do, reflecting on where we are now,” the Mayor told the Star after the 10-hour meeting. . “I would call it a compromise budget, because you heard from Fred (Francis, the councilman from District 1) and Jo-Anne (from District 6), they wanted it to be zero, and you could tell by Rino (Bortolin, from Ward 3) and Chris (Holt from Ward 4), they wanted to spend more. “

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A Transit Windsor bus is displayed on Tecumseh Road East near Pillette Road on Monday, December 13, 2021. The council approved a budget
A Transit Windsor bus is displayed on Tecumseh Road East near Pillette Road on Monday, December 13, 2021. The council approved a “prudent” budget for 2022 calling for a 1.86% tax increase on Monday, and the majority of councilors cite the COVID-hit economy as the reason for halting a major expansion of the transit system. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

The fact that the final vote was 9-2, he said, “speaks highly of the overall budget itself.”

Several councilors said they had been receiving an unprecedented number of messages from residents demanding a prudent budget, including Kieran McKenzie of Ward 9, one of the progressive councilors who had been calling for the 418X investment. Gignac said he would have preferred a tax increase below 1.86.

“I hear from my residents who are absolutely terrified of the financial implications that lie ahead,” he said.

The Council also approved a capital budget with $ 1.7 billion in expenditures over the next 10 years, including about $ 1 billion for roads and sewer.

Both Holt and Bortolin insisted they don’t spend a lot, but instead want to shift priorities from spending $ 510 million on roads in the next decade and focus more on services like public transportation that can reduce road requirements.

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“That’s the biggest pot, full of gold, that we’re not going to get anywhere near,” Holt said.

“I really feel like we owe something better to the citizens of this community.”

A Transit Windsor bus is displayed on Tecumseh Road East near Pillette Road on Monday, December 13, 2021. The council approved a budget
A Transit Windsor bus is displayed on Tecumseh Road East near Pillette Road on Monday, December 13, 2021. The council approved a “prudent” budget for 2022 calling for a 1.86% tax increase on Monday, and the majority of councilors cite the COVID-hit economy as the reason for halting a major expansion of the transit system. Photo by Dan Janisse /The Windsor Star

But other councilors noted that there are some significant improvements in this year’s budget, such as $ 1.3 million to help with supportive housing and a new emergency shelter for women and families, as well as money to do the 518X express bus service to St Clair College. – now operating as a pilot project – a permanent fixture. On Friday, the mayor announced that $ 532,000 in new revenue meant a number of cuts and missing initiatives could be addressed. A plan to save $ 24,000 a year by charging a $ 20 per visit fee for rat extermination was scrapped that is now free. A proposal to double the tunnel bus fare to $ 10 was lowered to $ 7.50 in 2022 with the intention of increasing it to $ 10 in 2023. A new engineer will be hired to help speed up the process of calming traffic in neighborhoods needy and stimulate the new Active Transportation Master Plan. And a new coordinator will be hired to find and administer grants to help build desperately needed affordable housing.

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But the $ 75,000 added to the budget to realign Central 3 to service the new Lancer Center proved controversial Monday. Its aim is to address criticism that the controversial plan by the city of Windsor to shut down the popular Adie Knox group and switch programs to the Lancer Center group had an obvious problem: there was no bus service. When questioned by councilors, Transit Windsor CEO Tyson Cragg said adding a loop to Central 3 would make the bus run every 30 minutes instead of the current 22, and lengthen travel time for passengers. although the Sunday service would be added. .

Cragg said the circuit was the best solution Transit Windsor could find “under the circumstances.”

But McKenzie said he is simply not satisfied with the solution. “On a daily basis, that route will be less efficient than it currently is,” he said, explaining that adding loops to existing routes is what made Transit Windsor inefficient in the first place. Bortolin referred to provincial comparisons showing Windsor’s transit system at the bottom when it comes to municipal investment and service. Holt said he would not vote for something that actually makes existing service worse.

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“I’m on Team 418X, proud,” he said.

Ward 10 Coun. Jim Morrison said that while he supports the 418X, “we have a lot of questions to answer about our financial condition. 2022 is not the time. “

And the mayor said the city can’t just blindly follow the Transit Master Plan improvement schedule. “We have to be able to adjust and adapt,” he said.

Count. Holt, you’re on the 418X team, I’m on the Windsor team, ”Dilkens said.

An increase of 1.86 percent translates to an additional $ 59 for an average home.

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Reference-windsorstar.com

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