Town council starts 2026 budget process with proposed 2.86% increase

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 deliberations Dec. 8-10 where council can adjust that 2.86 per cent number.

This is the first budget that came out under “strong mayor” powers, though Mayor Michael Prue pointed out the budget went from being the “mayor’s budget” to “council’s budget” after it was presented. 

“It is not the final budget,” he said of the document that was issued Monday night. “Council can do what they’ve always done.”

Prue said council is free to add to the budget or subtract from the budget as council has done in year’s past. He said he wanted to see the town continue its obligations, such as agreements with staff and service providers.

“We can’t go back on those,” he said. “We have to make sure our bills are properly paid.”

There are no new hires proposed in the 2026 budget, with Prue stating the goal going in was to keep any tax increase at “a very reasonable level” with the highest he wanted to see it being the rate of inflation.

Prue recalled previous years where the starting point was 10-12 per cent, but he wanted to see it start at a more reasonable, much lower level.

Director of corporate services/chief financial officer and treasurer Tracy Prince said administration has done some “belt tightening” and the 2.86 per cent number was developed. 

Prince said the budget focuses on the proposed levy “to deliver the service level and sustainability desired by council.” 

Prince’s presentation showed that to maintain operating service levels in the 2026 budget, the net levy increase will be just over $2.2 million. 

“Factoring in an increase in assessment growth allows for the presentation of a 2.86 per cent increase in the municipal tax rate,” Prince’s presentation states.

The proposed 2.86 per cent increase likely puts the town “in a good spot,” she said, but Prince pointed out not a lot of municipalities have released their budgets yet.

“Fiscal responsibility is about sound financial management, ethical stewardship and long-term community well-being,” said Prince. “It requires council members to balance immediate public needs with future financial stability.”

Final tax rates from last year saw Amherstburg come out on the high end, raising taxes 5.12 per cent in 2025. LaSalle was at 5.98 per cent, Essex was at 5.63 per cent, Leamington was 4.7 per cent, Tecumseh at 3.7 percent and Kingsville at 3.61 per cent. Windsor’s 2025 tax rate increase was 2.98 per cent, while Lakeshore was at 2.91 per cent. The County of Essex’s increase was at 3.76 per cent. 

Water and wastewater rates will rise at a familiar rate, as the recommended increases sit at three per cent for each.

Deputy CAO/director of development services Melissa Osborne said the recommended capital budget for 2026 currently sits at over $9.5 million. Over a seven-year period, from 2026 to 2032, that capital budget is estimated at just shy of $96.5 million, but Osborne noted the 2027-32 numbers are presented for approval in principle and subject to change.

Osborne noted projected annual capital spending sits at around $10 million, though $20 million annually is recommended under the town’s Asset Management Plan (AMP). 

Among the items in the 2026 capital budget at the moment are network hardware replacements at eight town sites ($70,000), IT services ($37,500), new laptops computer for town council ($14,000), implementation of the new Official Plan ($44,000), studies for the fire master plan ($50,000), the annual bridge maintenance program ($200,000), the annual surface treatment program ($325,000), a 50 per cent contribution (with Essex) on a bridge on Smith Side Road over the Long Marsh Drain ($915,000), a roads needs study update ($100,000), the annual sidewalk replacement program ($200,000), the annual mill and pave program ($850,000), the water metre exchange program ($300,000), McLeod Ave. sewage plant upgrades and replacements ($100,000), wastewater facilities maintenance ($275,000), water treatment plant maintenance ($250,000), upgrades and replacements at the water treatment plant ($2,010,000), upgrades to sanitary pump stations ($25,000), upgrades at Edgewater sewage system ($150,000), a portable generator for wastewater equipment ($200,000), fleet replacement ($1,260,000), clear lexon panel replacement at the Libro Centre ($162,500), parking lot upgrades at the Amherstburg Community Hub ($65,000), recycling receptacles for town properties ($25,000), upgrades to Libro Centre premier baseball diamond ($38,000), Gordon House improvements ($100,000), HVAC maintenance and replacement program ($75,000), consulting and repair of Amherstburg Community Hub roof based on condition assessment ($800,000), money put towards eventual Libro Centre parking lot replacement ($150,000), funding for back-up generators ($100,000), AODA improvements in parks ($50,000), parking lot improvements in parks ($20,000), lighting improvements in King’s Navy Yard Park ($171,000), River Canard Park improvements ($25,000), Warren Mickle Park upgrades ($25,000), Co-An Park upgrades ($100,000), and planning for the next phase of the trail system at the Libro Centre ($200,000).

Councillor Peter Courtney thanked Prue and town staff, noting that over the course of his time on council, the unveiling of the budget has been anxious and contentious, often “blindsiding” council and the public. 

A 2.86 per cent starting point is “very welcome” and “a good take-off spot,” stated Courtney.

Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb praised Prue for waiving the veto period and turning the budget over to council, in reference to the “strong mayor” powers Prue didn’t want. Gibb said Prue believed in what he said “and I for one appreciate it.”

Councillor Diane Pouget agreed with statements by Courtney and Gibb. She said it was a reasonable budget and good starting point for deliberations.

“I was very, very fearful of getting this budget tonight but I do feel good about this,” she said. 

Pouget asked if the upcoming police switch, to whatever service council will eventually decide, is factored in but CAO Valerie Critchley said it is not, as administration is still gathering information on the issue.

Prue said some people have been spreading messages about eight and nine per cent prior tax increases, stating those figures are untrue, and called for a chart at the public open house to show the actual numbers. He said adding the municipal tax rate with the county and school board rates are not an accurate way to calculate the total rate.

The mayor added there is still “a lot of work to do,” and reminded council and the public council is solely responsible for the municipal tax rate.

The public survey will be available on the town’s “Talk the Burg” website through Nov. 30. The Nov. 22 open house will run from 10 a.m.-12 noon. Council deliberations will be Dec. 8 from 6-10 p.m., Dec 9 from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and, if necessary, Dec. 10 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Town council starts 2026 budget process with proposed 2.86% increase 

By Ron Giofu