Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff is seeking council’s “22 cents” before municipal staff draft the 2026 budget update.
“Under mayor powers, I’m responsible for presenting a budget,” said Canniff. “So what I want to do is provide a little guidance, my own guidance in the public forum…to put together a budget that works for all of us.”
Giving the councillors a little bit of homework, the mayor wants to ask for input at the next council meeting on April 28.
With Chatham-Kent being one of Ontario’s municipalities with the lowest property taxes, Canniff hopes to keep a tax increase at around three percent. Though, this number depends on upper levels of government agreeing to help fund infrastructure in CK.
A presentation by CFO Gord Quinton at Monday night’s meeting encouraged council to request this additional funding from both provincial and federal governments to help cover infrastructure costs typically covered by upper levels of government. This was voted through unanimously.
“I’m confident with the upper levels of government, and input from council, we can get to this three percent level,” said Canniff.
The mayor explained he wants council to think about how to strategically invest in the community for Chatham-Kent’s future. Stressing the importance of lowering costs, while maintaining services across the board. Canniff does not want to see service cuts.
“No cuts to our vital rural services or facilities, no cuts to our vital libraries, parks, museums or service centres,” said Canniff. “No cuts to our rural fire services. We are a community of communities, and for us to succeed as such, we must support both the biggest and smallest communities in Chatham-Kent.”
With the municipality having a small amount of debt, Canniff believes that for CK to grow, it would require investment. In his presentation, Canniff suggested that CK could borrow towards municipality upgrades if that is what council felt was needed.
“I want to grow our community, not just maintain it,” said Canniff. “We are very solid financially, and it’s time to begin to taking on healthy debt to find the growth in our community to ensure we are a great place to live for years to come.”