At the first Budget Committee meeting, Chatham-Kent's council reduced the proposed tax increase by nearly one per cent.
The original budget called for a 4.92 per cent hike, but throughout the meeting on Tuesday night, that number went down to 3.96 per cent.
Councillor Anthony Ceccacci brought the hike down the most with a multi-million dollar reduction.
His motions slashed the 2026 budget by $2 million.
He proposed that council reduce the 2026 tax-funded AMP lifecycle inflation by $1.5 million, followed by a second reduction of $500,000 to reduce the tax impact.
The motions garnered a conversation with municipal staff who claimed that the municipality is already spending more than they are reserving.
Councillor Allyson Storey expressed her disagreement with the motions, noting it sounds like they are “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Councillor Melissa Harrigan supported the motions, explaining that it's a reduction that will “affect all of Chatham-Kent equally.”
The biggest reductions of the night ultimately passed 13 to 4 and 11 to 6.
Ceccacci’s next motion proposed that the business case increase in Host Community fees be further increased by $50,000, bringing the total to $200,000.
This motion failed 9 to 8.
Councillor Ryan Doyle also proposed small deductions in a multitude of reserves that would be taken as a one-time payment to reduce a portion of the tax hike.
His motion included $150,000 from the Insurance Risk reserve, $25,000 from the Community Improvements reserve, $15,000 from the Planning application reserve, $10,000 from the Property Disposition and Environmental Cleanup reserve, $15,000 from the ITT Strategic Plan Implementation reserve, $50,000 from the Senior Services Operational reserve, $25,000 from the Waste Management reserve, $50,000 from the Growth Plan reserve, $50,000 from the Tax Rate Stabilization reserve, and $125,000 from the Investment Fluctuation reserve.
The motion, proposing a $515,000 one-time payment from the municipality's reserve fund, failed 11 to 6.
The meeting went into closed session and is set to reopen to the public again on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
