A candidate for Windsor City Council has created a plan that he believes may generate millions of dollars to support the vulnerable.
Ward 2 incumbent Frazier Fathers has laid out a Windsor Housing Affordability and Unhoused Action Plan. He said that if implemented, it could bring in about $5-million a year to support Windsor-based homelessness and housing programs.
"For less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month, we can begin putting real municipal resources behind preventing homelessness, stabilizing our shelter system, getting affordable housing projects ready to build, making homes more accessible, and helping first-time buyers put down roots in the core," said Fathers.
Fathers introduced the proposal on Thursday.
The plan, should it be introduced and approved by councillors, is a dedicated one per cent municipal property tax investment phased in over two years, half a per cent each in 2027 and 2028. Fathers said that accounts for an additional $2.83 per month for the average accessed home in the city.
Fathers said he would like to see more of a local commitment to funding programs designed to keep people off the streets. He said too many strings are attached to funding provided by the federal and provincial governments.
"We have already identified that these governments are not going to save us," said Fathers. "So, it becomes a question of what kind of City do we want to live in?"
He said that he shared the plan and got feedback from groups such as Family Services Windsor-Essex, the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families, Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario, and Windsor Family Homes and Community Partnerships.
Fathers has asked Ward 2 voters for a full four-year term, after being selected in a by-election to succeed the departed Fabio Costante.
Also running in Ward 2 are Anthony Jabbour, Nick Markham, and Cynthia Van Vrouwerff.
The election is Monday, October 26.
