Following two days of deliberations, Amherstburg council has approved its 2025 budget with a 5.1 per cent tax increase, or $57.84 annually per $100,000 of assessment.
The increase was down from the initial proposed 5.3 per cent.
The total operating budget approved by council totalled $61,840,727.
Mayor Michael Prue says councillor passed a number of resolutions in an attempt to reduce tax bills.
"Unfortunately, it did not amount to a lot of money. We started out at 5.3 per cent and got it down to 5.1 per cent."
He says this was a 'very difficult' budget for council.
"I don't know what to tell people except that when the province cuts you back, when you cannot the inflation or the other factors, I think this council did the very best they could do. Am I disappointed it wasn't lower, yes I am, do I understand why it's not lower, yes, and I hope the people in good term will understand that too."
One of the resolutions passed included closing the Libro Centre on holidays.
Another included a $12,000 increase in development charges for new fully serviced single-family homes.
Prue says the fee must be charged and council made a decision in favour of the current tax base.
"You either charge the 25,000 people who live in Amherstburg an increase in their taxes, or you charge somebody buying a new house moving here for the first time an increase, and council decided it was more equitable and fairer that the new residents would pay that, and that the developers would include it in their charges to those new residents."
This year's increase was down from the 2024 increase of 6.44 per cent.