Residents of ward 8 gathered at Windsor Seventh-day Adventist Church on Monday evening.
Approximately 50 people attended the meeting for a chance to meet with city staff and their ward councillor, Gary Kaschak, to ask questions and express any concerns they have in their ward or in the city.
The main concern from residents was over the proposed 12.9 per cent tax increase for 2025, as well as some safety concerns.
Ward 8 has seen many improvements including the ongoing construction of improvements to Lauzon Parkway, the announcement of a new cricket pitch at Derwent Park, and a new transit terminal at the northwest corner of Tecumseh Road east and Lauzon Parkway.
Joe Nappa is a ward 8 resident and says he has some safety concerns.
"On Buckingham [Drive] there are no street lights, and it gets pretty dark lately. And come winter it's going to be even darker."
Judy Minello has been a ward 8 resident for over 40 years and says she's concerned about the proposed tax increase.
"I was concerned about our taxes going up more than they already are, and to try to understand why they want to do that is really an issue for me."
Councillor Kaschak says he understands why residents are concerned with the proposed tax increase.
"It's kind of unfortunate that it was released, and that number came out early and high. But, we're going to get that down, we're going to get that to the proper level, it's part of the problem when you have a growing city that you have a lot of demands, and a lot of expenditures. But we also got some good revenues coming in because of that, and we'll get that to the right level when it gets to the January or February budget time."
There are only three ward meetings remaining.
Jim Morrison will hold his ward 10 meeting on Tuesday, October 8, at the Fogolar Furlan starting at 6 p.m.
The ward 2 meeting will be held on Oct. 22, and the ward 9 meeting will be held on Oct. 23.