City of Windsor Outlines 2025 Budget Pressures

Mayor Drew Dilkens and City administration outlined the City of Windsor’s 2025 preliminary budget pressures today.
Despite anticipated long-term revenue growth from economic development, increased business activity, and rising housing starts, the City faces extraordinary budgetary pressures in considering the 2025 City Budget.
On September 10, 2024, Mayor Dilkens established three finance committees of councillors to find base operational and service-level savings across all City departments. Later that week on September 12, 2024, Mayor Dilkens directed an immediate hiring freeze for full-time permanent positions at the City of Windsor.
Today, Mayor Dilkens, Chief Administrative Officer Joe Mancina, and City Treasurer Janice Guthrie explained that the total 2025 preliminary budget pressures, without considered reductions, would amount to a tax levy increase of 12.9% or $62,578,206.
This projected tax levy increase is driven primarily by factors that are outside of the corporation’s control, including contractual obligations (4.28%), legislated requirements (1.11%), and inflationary pressures (0.94%). Collectively, these three items represent a 6.33% or $30,691,270 total increase to the levy.
This does not include contractual and other increased costs to the City from the Agencies, Boards, Commissions and Committees (ABCs), which have been projected by administration to represent an additional 2.09% or $10,130,501 increase to the total tax levy.
This information was provided to the Finance Committee chairs in a meeting with City administration on September 16, 2024, and will form the basis of their mandate to find base operational and service-level savings across all City departments. Beginning with deliberations the week of September 23, 2024, the committees will have all reasonable resources required from City administration to undertake this work.