Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is preparing councillors for another tough round of budget deliberations.
At a council meeting Monday, Dilkens told the councillors inflationary pressures and contractual obligations will mean next year's proposed tax increase could be the highest in 20 years.
"I don't want to ring the panic button or the alarm bell. I just want to go through and do the work. We've been able to do the work every year. I trust my colleagues that they're going to be able to go through and have hard conversations. But I think that there are no sacred cows, everything is on the table. We will look at everything to make sure that we are finding the appropriate balance," said Dilkens.
While the new strong mayor powers gives Dilkens the authority to prepare the budget and veto council recommendations he is looking to get councillors involved in the process.
There will be three committees of council created to review city administration's budget recommendations. These committees will be responsible for making recommendations for cuts or additions based on council priorities.
"With respect to the services that we deliver, we need all of council to be engaged and looking at that service delivery to find areas for savings that we can get this budget down to a level that residents would support," said Dilkens.
According to the new legislation, the budget must be presented by February 1, 2025.