Amherstburg Municipal Building. Amherstburg town council got its first look at the 2026 capital and operating budgets Monday night, and they are starting with a lower proposed tax rate increase than usual. The initial tax rate increase being proposed sits at 2.86 per cent, or $85.13 on a home valued at $250,000. This is the start of the 2026 budget process, with a public open house coming Nov. 22, a presentation to the audit and finance committee Dec. 1 and budget deliberatio

A move to amalgamate some conservation areas is meeting with questions and concerns locally. Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Park, Todd McCarthy has announced the Ontario government will soon introduce legislation to create the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA) “with the aim of improving the province’s conservation authority system to help get shovels in the ground faster on homes and other local infrastructure projects, while strengthening the vital

Essex County Civic Centre. A couple of firsts for the County of Essex as it moves forward with its inaugural Strategic Plan. Manager of communication and organizational development Don McArthur presented to council an advocacy policy which could help the county better prepare and position itself when it comes to lobbying the provincial and federal governments. According to McArthur’s report, the county currently has no formal process when it comes to advancing Essex County’s

The Amherstburg Santa Claus Parade Draws large crowds. The Amherstburg Santa Claus Parade is returning Nov. 22, and its organizers have gotten fees waived to help make it happen. The fee request, however, was found to be a little “surprising” to the parade organizers but they are now exempted. Windsor Parade Corporation executive director Maggie Durocher appeared before town council at its most recent meeting, stating that 2025 is the 18 th  year for the Amherstburg Santa Cla

Amherstburg Town Hall. The September statistics for the Windsor Police Service – Amherstburg Detachment were released last week. The statistics appeared on town council’s Oct. 27 agenda and those stats included 675 dispatch generated incidents for the month and 14 walk-in incidents. There were 255 traffic offenses last month with 15 Part III summons. There were six offenses classified as “Other Provincial Offenses.” There were 13 calls classified as community services/COAST.

For the time being, the Amherstburg/LaSalle trustee position on the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) is vacant. Public board trustees officially accepted the resignation of their now former colleague Ron LeClair at the Oct. 21 regular board meeting. LeClair had actually sent his letter of resignation Sept. 15, with the intention of it taking effect Sept. 30. “As you are aware the governance landscape for education has significantly changed, resulting in my

Amherstburg Town Hall. An alleged incident involving a town committee member and a town staff member will be the subject of an integrity commissioner investigation. While originally expected to be an in-camera meeting item, town council voted to conduct the matter in public session Monday night. Councillor Don McArthur believed the matter should be held in the open and was the one who requested it not be in-camera. McArthur said when he saw the matter on the in-camera agenda,

Councillor Peter Courtney said he had concerns over receptacles that residents had purchased will become obsolete.

Amherstburg Municipal Building. More information on the three options left on the table should be coming in the new year. Those options, as has already been previously announced, are either having policing done through a joint agreement with LaSalle, signing a contract with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) or bringing back Amherstburg Police. A motion that came out of last Tuesday’s in-camera meeting that administration send correspondence to the LaSalle town council and t