2026 Budget: Mayor Budget Minutes

Residents of the Town of Amherstburg 

Attn: Members of the Public

Every year, the Council must adopt a budget for the following year. It is a difficult task beginning with deliberations during the summer months and culminating with a final mill rate, which apportions the taxes to each residential property and business.

The Municipal General Tax Levy includes the County levy, the School Boards levy, and the municipal Amherstburg levy. Ontario law mandates that the budget must balance.

Council relies on a broad range of revenues, including Ontario government grants, the gas tax, development charges, user fees, and property taxes. Ontario’s grants continue to decline as they have been in the past several years.

We have two separate budgets to consider. The first is the operations budget, which covers the annual costs required to deliver Council-approved services. The second is the 7-year capital budget, which outlines a plan to acquire, repair, and replace assets and infrastructure going forward not just this year, but every year until 2032.

In 2026, our capital expenditures are as follows:

After thoughtful and thorough deliberations, including deputations from the public, Council approved both budgets in principle with a tax increase of 2.86%. By comparison, the municipalities in Windsor-Essex that have tabled or approved their budget to date have an average rate of increase of 3.27%. All have similar cost pressures to our own.

Our budget meets all of the pillars of Amherstburg’s Community Strategic Plan and will ensure the long-term viability of this wonderful place we call home.

Sincerely,
Michael Prue, Mayor
Town of Amherstburg