With the new year upon us, municipal officials are hunkering down to prepare for budget season.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says inflation will make for some very difficult conversations this year.
“With inflation running 4 or 5%, construction inflation is running about 8%,” Canniff says. “You look at a road we’re going to fix, if it cost $100 last year, it’s going to cost $108 next year to fix.”
Canniff says while everyone would love to see property taxes hold steady, it’s just not feasible this year.
“We need to make sure that we keep improving the community, so there’s going to be some big discussions.”
The fiscal challenges aren’t limited to Chatham-Kent. Canniff says other jurisdictions across the province are facing property tax hikes ranging from close to 2% to as high as 6 or 7%.
While he can’t reveal what Chatham-Kent’s starting point will be before the draft budget is presented on January 12th, all Canniff can promise is that council members will work their hardest to make sure the final tax increase is lower than the initial proposal.
The draft budget will be presented during a virtual meeting January 12th.
Budget presentations and community consultations are scheduled for January 19 and 20, being held online.
Five days have been set aside for deliberations, starting January 26. Those meetings will also be broadcast by YourTV.
