Sarnia council has set a $145 million budget that raises taxes 3.35 per cent this year.
Council set the tax rate in just over four hours of deliberations at city hall Tuesday, trimming $628,000 from the original draft.
The $74 million to be raised through taxation, represents an increase of $31 per $100,000 of assessment on the municipal portion of the property tax bill.
Residents who pay the transit levy will see an additional $2 increase.
Mayor Mike Bradley, who did not support the budget for the past two years, changed his tone this year.
"There's a big difference, we didn't take on any debt," said Bradley. "There wasn't massive hiring, like all of the people in IT [Information Technology]. The last two budgets I didn't support because it was the combination of those things."
Acting on councillor Mike Stark's recommendation, council decided to include the wages to hire three probationary firefighters -- up from two as previously recommended.
"The overtime exceeded $1-million in 2017 and $1.1-million in 2018," said Stark. "This experience, while influenced by one-time staffing issues, suggests we need to be more realistic in dealing with an overtime issue that needs to be addressed and managed to the extent that we can."
A one per cent hike in the police budget was approved, which will help cover a budget shortfall for the multi-million dollar police communication system. Four new towers are needed and significant repairs will be made to an old tower to hold the weight of modern equipment.
Preparing for a reduction in the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF), 20% of what's normally received has been added to the 2019 budget.
$50,000 was removed from the winter maintenance budget.
Council has decided to continue to allow plastic bags for leaves, at least until the summer. Staff will explore the possibility of establishing a fee for service and selling tags to offset the costs of emptying them and selling paper bags to residents at cost.
$66,000 will be spent to keep garbage and recycling pickup harmonized on the same day.
Council added $40,000 to offset federal plans to eliminate a tax exemption for municipal councillors.
Only two grant requests were approved. The Lambton Farm Safety Association will receive $200 and the Physician Recruitment Taskforce of Sarnia Lambton will receive one year of funding at $72,000.
A request by the taskforce for a four-year funding commitment to establish a family medicine residency program and operate a self-sufficient recruitment program was turned down.