Essex County council has approved its 2022 budget with a slight tax increase.
Council started Wednesday's deliberations with a 1.73% tax hike, but was able to whittle that down to 1.56%.
LaSalle mayor Marc Bondy says, with the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation, council settled on a reasonable and responsible budget.
He says more than $57-million will be spent on much needed road construction and infrastructure improvements
"These are, I don't want to say mandatory, but required spending. The roads, the bridges, the culverts. It is only 1.56% and I think it's great, especially with the inflationary pressures we have. You look at everything together, it's a real good budget that they brought forward."
Bondy says there's not much wiggle room when it comes to the county budget.
"This is my seventh county budget and there's not much gravy. We have our commitments. We have to put over $6-million away for the new hospital coming up. That's just one highlight, but we are responsible to take care of many things."
He says a modest increase is what's needed to keep the region moving forward.
"It's a reality of life. It's something that we have to do. People say you can go 0%, we can, but then we're going to have to pay down the road sometime. So if we go with a respectable 1.56%, it's manageable."
The budget also includes the hiring of 12 new paramedics for Essex-Windsor EMS which has been facing staffing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 1.56% tax increase amounts to $7.61 per $100,000 of home assessment.
Last year, county council approved a 0.49% tax hike.