Windsor city councillors and administration continue to review the 2025 budget for savings.
Last week, Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens said the proposed property tax increase stood in the six per cent range, down from 7.37 per cent last month, and down from the initial 12.9 per cent projected increase.
Three different committees comprised of city councillors have been set up to look for efficiencies.
Ward 1 councillor Fred Francis sits on one of the committees.
"Spending at city hall is out of control, it's been out of control for a couple years now," said Francis while speaking on AM800's The Shift. "You see it with the ice rink, you see it with the trolley beacon project. These are projects that are tens of millions of dollars and we're millions of dollars over budget. This is what I mean when I say spending is out of control. We have to get spending in line at city hall, and when you're able to do that you're able to put money towards your priorities."
He says council should look at the asset management tax for ways to reduce the tax increase.
"This is a capital tax, right? That equates to about I think five to six million dollars, it's about 1.2 per cent. This is a tax we have full control over, it's a tax that we implemented and it's a tax that the provincial government is not forcing us to implement, so could bring this tax down to zero."
Francis says the current projected six per cent increase is too high.
"This thing should be as close to two per cent or zero per cent as possible, and there's always ways to get us there. I mentioned the asset management tax, which is double capital tax that we could look at, and anything else is just excuses."
Dilkens must present the proposed budget by Feb. 1, 2025, under Ontario's Strong Mayor Powers, at which point council will have 30 days to review and make any recommendations for change.
