Essex draft 2026 Budget presented with 4.92% average increase

by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative

The 2026 Draft Budget was presented to Essex Council during the nearly five-hour Budget Walkthrough meeting on Monday evening, designed to introduce the local decision-makers and ratepayers to the details inside.

  An average tax increase of 4.92% – or $208 a year – across Wards 1 through 4 has been proposed. That is for a median single-family detached home. That equates to around $2,200 in property tax, on average from all Wards, on a residential assessment of $192,000.

  A one-percent tax increase for 2026 equates to around $201,000, Kate Rowe, Director of Corporate Services/Treasurer, explained.

  The 2026 Budget – which Council will debate during the deliberation meeting scheduled for Monday, December 8 starting at 1pm (and December 9 starting at noon if needed) – includes $80.4M in total revenues and expenses, including over $21.5M dedicated to capital initiatives.

  CAO Kate Giurissevich spoke of the level of service residents expect for the price charged in taxes.

  When it comes to the 2026 Budget, she said there is an increase of expenses, while the revenues create a deficit, which is due to increases in fixed costs (such as the OPP contract, salaries, benefits, utilities, etc.) The Town is looking at an $807,000 increase, which results in a minimum 4.01% increase in taxation.

  To eliminate that deficit, the Town could increase property taxes or alternate revenue sources, or it can cut expenses where possible, which could mean a decrease in level of service, Giurissevich explained.   

Some of the Budget highlights:

CAO Giurissevich said Administration brought forward projects they considered to be most urgent, aligned with Council’s Strategic Plan, and where a funding plan could be achieved. Council members are urged to bring changes or initiatives missing to the appropriate Director over the next-two weeks, before deliberations start.

  She added that if Council wants to reduce the proposed tax rate, cuts need to take place to a tax-funded project.   

• A 1% investment into the Asset Management Program which supports Town asset replacement

• OPP contract increases which equates to around 0.4%. Rowe explained Administration used a strategy to support that increase with an offset from reserve transfers.

• Three new positions are requested: A Network Systems Administrator with an impact on the budget of $65,000 in restructuring Corporate Services Clerk to Revenue Services Clerk; an Assistant Manager of Financial Analysis & Planning with an impact if $136,910 to focus on grant writing and support the planning and execution of new financial software; and a Communications and Events Coordinator with an impact of $65,700, with the elimination of the communications summer intern position.

• Youth in Action Students program with a $12,356 impact on the Budget to partner with Community Living Essex County to continue the program and help with inclusion. This will allow for two part-time positions year-round as housekeeping facility assistants and one youth in action position for six-weeks in the summer.

• Fire Station 3 and parking lot for $5.2M through long-term debt. The current facility has reached the end of its useful life and does not have proper vehicle exhaust extraction systems. It will be located at the Harrow Soccer Complex. The hope is to have shovels in the ground in early 2026, Fire Chief Jason Pillon said.

• $1.3M to replace Fire Engine 3 from the Asset Management Reserve as the current vehicle has reached its end-of-life-cycle and parts are obsolete. This was pre-approved for the budget.

• $120,000 in the 2026 Budget (total project is $240,000) for document archiving and records management. Half the funding from the Town Hall expansion project, with the other half shared between the Building and Development Services Reserves.

• $270,000 for roof/HVAC replacement for the Harrow OPP station. Funding from Police Contingency and Asset Management Reserve.

• $50,000 for a feasibility study to relocate Essex OPP Detachment offices. Also, $50,000 to replace fencing around the Harrow OPP Station. Both from the Police Contingency Reserve.

• Upgrading the By-Law patrol vehicle to a hybrid for $65,000. Funding from the Green Fund and Asset Management.

• $500,000 for enterprise resource planning phase one from General Contingency Reserve, as Microsoft will not continue product updates to Microsoft Great Plains as of April 2031.

• $200,000, half from the Co-An Park Reserve and the other from the Town of Amherstburg, for the Co-An Park Assessment to determine long-term priorities of the park.

• $582,000 for an amphitheatre at Heritage Gardens Park, funded through sponsorship and naming rights. So far, $500,000 in sponsorship and naming rights has been secured. If additional commitments are secured, the design can be higher-quality.

• $375,000 for the Essex Town Centre Park from the DC Reserve.

• $600,000 from the Asset Management Reserve for tennis court replacement in Harrow of four pickleball and two tennis courts. Tennis users are hoping for one additional court and pickleball users hope for two. The extra can be addressed later.

• $720,000 from Asset Management Reserve for the facility structural assessment repair plan for the Essex Splashpad House.

•  $100,000 pre-approved to update the five-year Climate Adaptation Plan. 70% will come from the FCM Grant, 30% from the Green Reserve Fund.

• $260,000 from the DC Reserve for a five-ton snow plow.

• $570,000 from the Asset Manager Reserve for a street sweeper.

• Road projects: full reconstruction of Maidstone Avenue/Talbot Street intersection for $3M. Hot mix asphalt resurfacing on: Joan Flood Drive for $115,000; Grondin Avenue, Stewart Street, and Charles Street in McGregor for $510,000; and $325,000 for Harrison Street, Jackson Street, Sydenham Street, and Bagot Street. Iler Road rehabilitation phase 2 for $650,000, from Huffman to County Road 50. $350,000 for South Malden Road rehabilitation phase 1. Funding sources varied for the projects.

• $800,000 from the Urban Levy Reserve for phase one improvements to the Rush Drain area on Bell Avenue.

 Budget challenges:

Rowe explained budget challenges included a temporary slow down in assessment growth, which she said should recover shortly after 2026. At the end of 2025, growth was at 1.63%. it is estimated to be 1.8% for next year.

  Inflation, she added, has been up and down over the past five-years. The percentage has started to stabilize. In 2025, it was at 2.4%, which is higher than the 2% target the Bank of Canada sets. This year’s percentage was used as a basis for the 2026 Budget in terms of economic pressure, Rowe added. Staff is continuing to monitor inflation.

 Grant Dollars:

Grant dollars are one way the Town funds its Operating and Capital Budgets. Through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, Essex received an around $88,000 increase for 2026, totalling $4,462,200. These dollars support critical services and help keep tax rates reasonable, Rowe explained.

  The Town also received grant dollars through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund of $1.3M, up from $1.18 last year, and Canada Community Building Fund of $1,111,23, up from $1.09M last year. This is funding utilized for capital works and projects.

 Operating Budget:

The Town has adjusted the Operating Budget to incorporate the increase in the Policing contract, the Organics program that began locally in October, and impact of salary stabilization.

  Annually, salaries account for $28.6% of the Town’s Operating Budget expenditures. Growth and an increase in staffing go hand-in-hand. The proposed change to salaries was an increase of $1.1M from the $15.7M approved in 2025. As the Town cannot use reserves to fund operations, the Town stabilized contractual increases over three-years, using a 53-week pay period which periodically happens, Giurissevich explained.

 Capital Budget:

The proposed 2026 Capital Budget is $21.5M. There are revenues from user rates and property tax.

  The 2026 Work Plan includes larger projects, like Fire Station 3, Fire Engine 3, and the Maidstone Avenue to Talbot intersection improvements. Midscale projects include the amphitheatre, the tennis courts, and equipment.

Reserve Accounts have a small decline:

Rowe noted there has been a “small decline” in the reserve balances from 2024. Her presentation showed a total remaining balance of $77.95M at the end of 2024 to $67.54M at the end of 2025. The proposed budget balance for the end of 2026 is $62.09M.

  Her understanding is that the reserves were built up in anticipation of large-scale projects that were going to be put in past year’s projects. The decline is addressing those projects coming to fruition. It is important to ensure sufficient investments over time to support that work.  

 Essex County OPP Detachment Board-North, BIA present budgets:

As Town Boards, Essex Council needs to approve the Essex County OPP-Detachment Board-North and the Essex Centre BIA budgets.

• At its November 3 meeting, members of the Essex County OPP Detachment Board-North approved its 2026 Operating Budget, which is proposed to be $118,371, a 3.05% increase over the approved 2025 Budget. The Board’s budget is split between the communities in which this Board serves: Essex, Lakeshore, and Tecumseh, which also need to approve the budget. The draft allocations are $39,276.65 for Essex and Lakeshore, and $39,817.69 for Tecumseh, as it provides for the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) pension plan costs.

• The Essex Centre Business Improvement Association (BIA) is seeking Council permission to implement a three-percent increase to the current fee. That’s up from the two-percent increase it asked for last year. The BIA will also ask to increase the levy cap for large businesses from $6,300 to $6,500. That was raised last year, as well.

 Harrow and Colchester Pickleball Club interested in two extra courts:

Reps from the Harrow and Colchester Pickleball Club approached Council to ask for an additional two pickleball courts to the proposal. The club has grown and plays year-round. The group would like to discuss cost-sharing opportunities, yearly agreements on terms of use, and fundraising to support the extra two courts.

  The plan for the tennis court replacement, from the Asset Management Reserve, was to have two tennis courts. Tennis users wanted one additional court. It also had four pickleball courts, and the club wanted an additional two, Jake Morassut, Director of Community Services, said. The budget is $600,000.

Community Outreach:

The Town of Essex received public feedback when designing the budget, using various tools to collect the information. 151 responses were received.

  Most participation came from Essex Centre, however, there was participation from throughout the municipality.

  Feedback is incorporated into priorities for the year, which included flood prevention, road repairs, and emergency response and preparedness.