A 1.4% tax hike has been approved at the county level.
Essex County council met Wednesday night to discuss the 2019 budget which maintains the status quo with a modest increase of about $13 on a home valued at $200,000.
This from county CAO Rob Maisonville who says the majority of the increase is due to $1.2-million being put aside for a new mega hospital bringing the reserve total to $3.9-million.
He says the county's $100-million portion of the new hospital is due in 2027.
"A $100-million project, the County of Essex doesn't do anything that's $100-million. Over time we do, but that's one project that we have to fund that really isn't what we do, but we're working our way towards that. We're trying to do it over the long term so it doesn't negatively adverse the taxpayer, but the funds will be there when it comes time."
Maisonvile says it's not a flashy budget, but sets a solid foundation going forward.
"A 1.4% increase is a pretty good number. It's below inflation, allows us to do what we're doing, looks at the long term. We're not 100% there, but we're moving towards it. We're a lot further ahead than most municipalities. You heard from our treasurer with regards to our credit rating, with regards to our zero debt. So we're doing well."
County of Essex Treasurer Rob Maisonville attends the 2017 budget meeting for the county on February 1, 2017. (Ricardo Veneza)
He says big money is being spent on roads as well.
"Based on our operations, if we weren't talking about external items, we'd actually be at a tax rate decrease. On an annual basis, we are now at about $16-million for roadway expansion and we're about $12-million for roadway maintenance. The reality is roads just don't seem to be lasting as long as they used to."
Maisonville adds several other sectors are getting additional funding as well including social housing, the Sun Parlor seniors home, Essex-Windsor EMS and the County Wide Active Transportation System or CWATS.
The 2019 budget came in at just under $103-million.