Sarnia mayor vows to knock down proposed 8 per cent tax hike
Sarnia City Council will set the city budget on Tuesday, with the proposed tax hike sitting at more than eight per cent.
But the city’s mayor is vowing to knock that down.
“People are suffering out there,” said Mayor Mike Bradley. “And you always have those challenges. But right now you’ve got interest rates, mortgage rates, inflation and a lot of uncertainty in the future of the economy. So to me you batten down the hatches, you do that job and get that down to a reasonable figure that people can accept.”
The proposed operating budget amounts to $181.8 million.
It calls for a property tax hike of 8.18 per cent, which amounts to an additional $76 for every $100,000 of residential assessment.
The draft budget includes capital investments of $51.5 million, including facility and recreation upgrades, road improvements, sewer and water main upgrades, and much more.
It’s the first municipal budget in which the mayor can exercise strong mayor powers under new provincial legislation.
But Bradley said he’s not going there.
“I could have cut that budget by two, four, six per cent. I chose not to. I’m just having the budget go to council and we’ll do what we normally do, which is to cut it down to a reasonable number,” he said. “Not eight per cent.”
Sarnia, Ont. Mayor Mike Bradley is seen at Sarnia City Hall on Nov. 14, 2023. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
One of the bigger pieces of the budget is for policing. The proposed police budget, endorsed by the Police Services Board, is coming in at $33.4 million, an increase of 9.98 per cent. The bulk of it is eaten up by salaries and benefits.
The proposed police budget addresses repairs to the service’s Christina Street headquarters, increased workloads for officers, inflationary pressures and responsibilities through the Community Safety and Policing Act, expected to come into place next year.
Police Chief Derek Davis said the service is playing catch-up.
“You know the defund movement and these other types of initiatives have really put downward pressure on police budgets and cut a lot of corners,” Davis explained. “Speaking in generalities of course, but some of those proverbial chickens are coming home to roost now and there’s not a lot that as a chief I can do to mitigate that, those are things that we have to deal with.”
Sarnia City Council will meet on Dec. 5 at 9 a.m. to discuss the budget.
“What do we need, and what do we want? This year my voice to the council is going to be very strong about restraint,” said Bradley.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6968646.1721316302!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING High-profile Liberal minister quitting cabinet, not running in next election
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has announced he will not run in the next federal election, and will be quitting his cabinet position Friday.
What is Project 2025? A look at the conservative platform Joe Biden says 'will destroy America'
Its authors call it the U.S. conservative movement's 'mandate for leadership,' designed to guide a potential second term for former U.S. president Donald Trump.
B.C. woman who thought Coldplay concert 'was a date' must pay ex for ticket, tribunal rules
A B.C. woman has been ordered to repay her ex for a ticket to Coldplay's 2023 concert in Vancouver – in a small claims decision that highlights the distinction between gifts and loans under Canadian law.
Obama, Pelosi and U.S. Democrats make fresh push for Biden to reconsider 2024 race ahead of convention
Former president Barack Obama has privately expressed concerns to Democrats about President Joe Biden’s candidacy, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately warned Biden that Democrats could lose the ability to seize control in the House if he didn’t step away from the race.
Final hurdle clears for grocery code of conduct as Walmart, Costco sign on
All the major Canadian grocers are now on board for a grocery code of conduct, paving the way for industry guidelines that have been several years in the making.
Rare photos reveal uncontacted tribe in Peruvian Amazon as loggers move in
Rare images of the Mashco Piro, an uncontacted Indigenous tribe in the remote Peruvian Amazon, were published on Tuesday by Survival International,
See where abortions are banned and legal in the U.S. -- and where it's still in limbo
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated a constitutional right to abortion nationwide, nearly two dozen U.S. states have banned or limited access to the procedure.
Ground assault begins on Labrador City wildfire that forced thousands to evacuate
Firefighters began attacking a fire near Labrador City from the ground today, marking a new stage in the effort to get the roaring wildfire under control.
6 bodies were found in a Bangkok hotel room with no signs of violence. Police think they know why
Should visitors to Thailand be concerned about their safety after six people were found dead in a locked hotel room in Bangkok?