The budget committee of Chatham-Kent council followed a familiar script Wednesday evening, adding to the tax increase after spending the first night taking away from it.
It’s something previous iterations of budget committees have done here for years – cut into infrastructure spending, look at using reserves to “buy down” the tax increase, and then add items back into to budget.
This time around, it was the squeakiest rural wheels that got the grease. And that squeaking occurred down dusty gravel roads.
The first night of budget deliberations saw the committee, led by South Kent Coun. Anthony Ceccacci, vote in favour of a pilot project using reserve funds to put down dust suppressant in front of every home on gravel roads within the municipality, as well as at all gravel intersections.
It came with a $550,000 price tag.
Twenty-four hours later, Ceccacci apparently thought his own idea was not good enough. After receiving calls from rural taxpayers, he put forward a motion to use suppressant in those specific locations twice a year.
The committee approved the motion, which meant $1.1 million would come from reserves next year to pay for the pilot project.
Last year, the budget committee pulled all dust suppressant on rural roads for an annual cost savings of $1.47 million.
It didn’t go well. Council opted to reverse course and reinstated dust suppression this summer, to the expense of $350,000, as it was too late in the season to get all rural roads done.
Ceccacci’s double-down plan on dust suppressant, however, was wiped out shortly thereafter.
Right after the committee approved that motion 13-4, Chatham Coun. Michael Bondy put forward a motion to reinstitute full dust control on rural roads at the previous cost of $1.47 million.
North Kent Coun. Rhonda Jubenville said rural roads aren’t safe during dry summer months.
“This is a need. It’s not a want for our rural residents. Dust on these roads that are not treated impairs the vision of drivers and causes a safety concern,” she said. “Rural residents, all they want are safe roads.”
Edward Soldo, general manager of engineering and infrastructure, told the committee that reacting to complaints is not the best way to make decisions.
“What is the metric we will consider to be successful (on dust suppression)? Right now, we’re basing it on complaints,” he said. “We had hundreds of complaints when we had this level of service prior (to 2025). We had hundreds of complaints when we didn’t have this service. I can guarantee we’ll have hundreds of complaints no matter what option you pick tonight.”
The motion passed 10-7, adding 0.67 per cent to the tax increase. It brought the increase, which sat at 3.96 per cent after the first night, up to 4.63 per cent, down less than 0.3 per cent from its starting point at 4.92 per cent.
It should be noted that all ratepayers across Chatham-Kent, regardless of if they live on a gravel road or not, will pay for this service. Whereas in Chatham, area rating for services such at street lights, sidewalks and garbage collection means people outside of Chatham are not on the hook for covering such costs.
In the opening meeting of the 2026 budget deliberations on Nov. 25, the committee went after proposed increases to infrastructure spending. Ceccacci successfully lobbied to cull $2 million from such spending.
“If we look at cuts elsewhere, I think we’re going to go project to project and possibly make cuts in each other’s wards,” he said to the other councillors, adding, “This is not optimal by any means.”
Gord Quinton, chief financial officer for the municipality agreed with the latter statement.
“This will have serious impact. You’re reducing the base by $2 million, which means you won’t have it next year. Over 10 years, you’re having $20 million less to build things,” he said.
Ceccacci followed up that effort with a proposal to increase landfill hosting fees to $200,000 annually, something the municipality is already achieving, but had not budgeted for.
Those decisions left the committee at the 3.96 per cent mark in terms of an increase in next year’s budget.
In the wake of adding back the dust suppressant to the base budget the next night, there were several half-hearted attempts to seek savings elsewhere, but the committee ultimately opted to pass the budget at 4.63 per cent. That represents a tax increase on the average Chatham-Kent home of $172.
Quinton cautioned that next year’s tax increase is looking like eight or nine per cent, adding a great deal could change over the next 365 days.
