Windsor residents are being urged to speak up now if they would like to have a say in the city's 2018 budget.
Mayor Drew Dilkens says the most effective way to impact the conversation is to communicate with your elected officials.
Dilkens says the least effective time for someone to try and make changes to the decision process, is as a speaker on budget night.
"The problem is, you end up having between 30 and 40 people who are waiting for their chance to speak. So, a lot of the comments, you hear them but you're already well into formulating your opinion on the budget, consulting with people and putting things together," he says.
Dilkens says there is a lot of discussion that goes on amongst the councillors leading up to budget night.
"To the extent that the public can provide feedback in advance and actually engage their elected official in a dialogue about the important things ahead of the actual budget night, I think it's more powerful for the elected official to receive that feedback but I think it actually does a better service for the resident as well, who is interested in what we're doing at the city level."
Council begins budget deliberations Monday, January 15, 2018 and the proposed budget is calling for a 2.6% property tax increase but Dilkens expects the number will be closer to the rate of inflation. In 2017, the budget had a 1.5% tax increase, the first hike in eight years.