Deliberations over the 2019 County of Essex budget begin Wednesday afternoon.
The proposed budget includes a 1.43% tax increase.
County Warden Gary McNamara says any bump in taxes will catch the eye of residents, but points out the increase will actually maintain the status quo. He says it's also well below the rate of inflation province-wide.
"One thing the county's really proud of, we're the only county in the province of Ontario that has a AA+ Rating from Standard and Poor with a stable outlook," McNamara says. "Our long-term fiscally sustainable finance model is working and basically there's no real big surprises moving forward."
As for spending proposals laid out in the budget, he says there are a few areas that the county needs to focus on.
"The social housing cost and the capital spending in certain areas like EMS enhancement and technology improvements," says McNamara. "We're continuing our infrastructure enhancements and road rehabilitation programs, that's including our trail systems, continuing our asset management contribution under the rate of inflation."
Funding for the new mega hospital is also part of the budget equation.
"We've made a commitment a few years ago to fund our portion of the share of the cost which is close to $100-million. We'll continue to add to that," says McNamara.
The 2019 Essex County budget will be deliberated at the Essex County Civic Centre on Wednesday January 12 at 4pm.
- with files from AM800's Rob Hindi