Savings found to reduce estimated 12.9 per cent tax hike for Windsor residents

An estimated tax increase of 12.9 per cent for Windsor residents has so far been reduced to 7.37 per cent.

The reduction comes after a review of the preliminary 2025 operating budget conducted by senior city administration.

Commissioner of Finance and City Treasurer Janice Guthrie says the review also included revenue increases and revenue opportunities, which resulted in $5 million in additional revenue opportunities being found.

"We're talking about new revenue opportunities that have made themselves available this year," she says. "There will be some increase in user fees, and we're still exploring other avenues for reductions."

Guthrie says some of their user fees have not been changed in many, many years.

"We're doing a complete analysis to see where it's appropriate and making sure that the fees that we are charging are comparable in the market place so that we actually don't have the opposite effect where people will no longer use our services," she says.

Guthrie says the preliminary budget number also referenced approximately $8 million in service enhancements, but as a result of the review, they've put forward a recommendation of $1 million in service enhancements.

"Not everything is off the table. It's just that some of the enhancements are not appropriate at this time," she says. "Those budget issues will be brought forward, and should city council as a whole determine that they would like to look at these types of service enhancements, there's certainly going to be an opportunity to discuss those."

While the administrative finance team has found savings as a result of a review, another one will be conducted to give some additional items further consideration.

Three different committees of city council continue to examine the proposed 2025 operating budget in the search for savings recommendations.

The mayor must present the proposed budget by Feb. 1, 2025, under Ontario's Strong Mayor Powers, at which point council will have 30 days to review and make any recommendations for change.

The 2024 budget was passed with a 3.91 percent property tax increase; however, the tax rate was increased to 4.61 percent in May 2024 after the mayor reopened the budget as $3.2 million more in spending was approved to support the Strengthen the Core—Downtown Windsor Revitalization plan.