Kingsville has tabled its 2019 draft budget.
If the document was approved as is, residents would be looking at a 2.9% tax hike — slightly down from 2018's 3.3% increase.
Mayor Nelson Santos says council still has plenty of work to do and that number will likely change.
The proposed budget is also similar to the one for 2018 with funding being designated for future infrastructure investments along with money for parks and recreation to roadways and bridges.
But Santos says there is a number of challenges council will have to consider.
"A significant impact that we're seeing year-over-year, continued increases from our collective agreements for our employees," he says. "We have pressures from the OPP increasing. We're seeing an increase request of about $130,000 just on the policing budget, which is one of our larger operational budgets and contract. So pretty significant."
Santos says, residents will be happy to hear, the draft doesn't include any cuts to service.
"We're hoping council takes a look at the entire picture as we go through the line-by-line items that are measuring the levels of service," he says. "There's no cuts in levels of service that this current budget provides, but we have to look at, as the departments bring forward their operations, an opportunity to have that fulsome discussion."
Council will have the holiday season to digest the draft budget before beginning deliberations January 11.
Budget meetings are scheduled for January 25 and, if necessary, February 8.