Fort Erie councillors ask staff to target a 3.5% budget increase
October 7, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Despite significant pressures town staff have been asked to come up with a 2026 budget that keeps a modest tax increase.
At Monday’s council-in-committee meeting, Councillor Darren Flagg put forward an amendment to a budget planning report that tasks staff with presenting a 2026 budget that’s a 3.5 per cent increase from 2025.
It adds that the increase can go up to 4.25 per cent but staff will need to present a business case for such a raise.
“We are to a point in our community where we need to show the leadership to tighten our belts where we can,” he said shortly after putting forward the amendment.
Staff and councillors aren’t beholden to those numbers, as council can decide during budget deliberations to raise or lower as they see fit. However, the direction to staff sets an expectation.
“We’re not going to be boxing ourselves in but we are providing some direction to staff,” said Mayor Wayne Redekop, responding to concerns from Councillor Joan Christensen that the direction could limit their options when formal deliberations begin.
During deliberations for the 2025 budget, staff included a forecast increase of 8.9 per cent for 2026. A revised base budget forecast brought that down to 8.75 per cent.
According to the staff report, an increase in net wages and benefits will be causing the bulk of the increase next year. The $1.4 million increase represents 3.84 per cent to the levy. However, there are other increased expenses, as well as decreased revenue from sources like the provincial Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund that staff will have to deal with.
At the moment, staff are not proposing any supplemental items for the 2026 budget, the report said.
The report also highlights changes to the water and wastewater budget. The forecast going into 2025 was for a 7.3 per cent increase next year, but that has since been decreased to 6.69 per cent.
Rising treatment costs are driving the potential increases, the report said.
The staff report also included some reaction to the strong mayor power legislation, which has given mayors throughout Ontario the ability to lead the budget process, among other things.
“The mayor has provided a written directive to ensure a collaborative decision-making process,” the report says.
Part of the legislation gives councillors 30 days to propose amendments to the mayor’s budget.
Councillors approved a staff recommendation on Monday that reduced the time frame for budget amendments to 10 days, similar to when councillors would historically receive the agenda package.
Staff and the mayor said they’re trying to keep the process as similar as possible to previous years.
“For all intents and purposes I envisage the process unfolding just like in years past,” said Redekop.
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About The Author
Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards is a longtime Niagara community journalist who has covered a variety of beats, including business, agriculture, the wine industry and politics. When not writing, there's a good chance he can be found at a baseball diamond or curling rink.
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