There's relief at the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority now that the City of Windsor has finally signed off on its budget for this year.
Back in December, city council rejected the authority's spending plan over fears an increase in the levy would mean a property tax increase for residents in Windsor. The authority asked for an increase of $300,000. It needed that okay before it could go ahead with a $4/tonne increase.
The budget then went to an ad hoc committee to resolve the dispute, and Councillor Hilary Payne says the city recently rubber stamped it.
"There were concerns originally, that accepting the solid waste budget would lead to a more than 0% increase and you know that's been a mantra of the city," she says.
Payne says the increase wouldn't have been an issue if the authority had approved a proposal to accept trash from outside the region. That would have boosted revenue by $700,000, but the authority feared it would adversely affect the lifespan of its landfill.
County Warden Tom Bain says the authority needs the extra revenue from its levies because it can't rely on its reserves forever.
"We're just not going to be able to hold the line any longer and keep hitting our reserves because the reserves aren't going to last," says Bain.
Payne says there's $11-million in reserves now, and the authority decided long ago it would stop drawing from that fund when reserves hit the $4-million mark.
