Essex Town Council is looking ahead to the impact Ontario's Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act is going to have on the town's bottom line.
Councillors got a look at the town's proposed budget for next year, and it includes almost $213,000 in the event Bill 148 becomes law. It has passed second reading in the Ontario legislature.
Not only will the bill increase the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2019, some mayors fear it will increase spending causing double-digit increases in property rates. Among them, Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara who says it will boost expenditures in his town by $2.1-million.
McNamara wants the province to exempt small towns and rural areas.
Essex Treasurer and Director of Finance and Business Services presented the spending plan for his town at a special meeting Monday night. He also showed councillors the town's operating forecast through to 2022.
A summary shows a 1% increase in total operating revenues to about $40.6-million. A surplus in this year's operating budget of $91,000 will be carried over into 2018.
Several projects have been worked into the budget pending the approval of some $3.8-million in grant applications. They include a roads assessment, conversion of town streetlights to LED, new streetlights and storm drainage improvements for Ward 1, and accessible ramp access at Colchester Beach.