Budget deliberations will continue in Lakeshore Monday night.
Talks began on a Draft Budget last week that would see a 1.5% increase for taxpayers. According to the town's website, this year's municipal tax bill might go up $17.70 on a home valued at $200,000.
Mayor Tom Bain says much of what's in the budget will remain the same; the majority of the conversation revolves around infrastructure. He hopes a few more hours of deliberation will result in a finalized budget Monday night as they continue to comb through everything at public meetings.
"It makes the rest of the year go smoother when you really set your path out for the whole year through your budget," says Bain. "It's very important that certainly the budget be kept low, but that the level of service is also maintained."
Much of the reshuffling revolves around making sure roads and infrastructure are taken care of, according to Bain.
"Road conversion from gravel to tar and chip, so we're staying roughly in the same ballpark, but changing some of the infrastructure work that's going to be completed in the next year," says Bain. "Geographically we're huge; we have more roads than any of the other municipalities [in Essex County]. It's an area where the council as a whole has seen a really need to do further work."
Budget deliberations resume at 7pm Monday at town hall — the next council meeting is Tuesday night at 6pm.
— with files from AM800's Rob Hindi.