By Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
The whittling has begun on the municipal budget and it’s not going up by 9.4 per cent.
Mayor Darrin Canniff made the comments at a recent council meeting as part of a discussion about seeking a 7.5-per-cent budget cut across several municipal departments.
“None of us want higher taxes,” the mayor said in his remarks. “We all want to collectively work together to get that number down significantly. But we need to do it in the most prudent way, there’s the balance of how we can do it.”
According to Canniff, he’s been working with the administrative team to come up with cost savings and has shaved the increase down to 6.9 per cent as of Oct. 7. Reports in mid-summer had the potential increase at 9.4 per cent
Earlier this year, the mayor sent out a request to councillors asking where spending cuts can be made.
“We all have our own opinions of what we can and cannot touch,” he told council.
