The final draft of Amherstburg's Service Delivery Review is going before council Monday.
It identifies the need for more staffing to properly maintain town services, according to Mayor Aldo DiCarlo.
DiCarlo says new positions recommended in the report could cost more than $1-million in salaries.
"In order to continue to provide the level of service that council and the residents have said they expect from town hall, we would need more people in order to do that," he says.
Additional administrative staff will be needed eventually, says DiCarlo.
"The report clarifies where the consultants believe we're short staffed, so that's where some of the costs in 7.55 per cent come from."
DiCarlo says lost revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic definitely had an impact on the budget increase.
Nevertheless, he says the town can pay for what's needed now, or pay later and hope the cost doesn't go up.
"All documents kind of back each other up, at least in the sense of trying to clarify the town is still, since 2014, is playing catch up and in order to get everything done that we need to get done there will be costs involved," he says.
A final report will be presented to council at 2 p.m. via livestream Monday; a regular meeting of council will follow at 6 p.m.