Sarnia council has set a $171.67 million budget with a tax increase below three per cent for 2023.
Contributions to capital infrastructure, labour, a 2022 operating surplus and a recycling program -- amounting to nearly $2.1 million -- were trimmed Monday.
The amount to be spent on information technology purchases was changed, as was the transfer of funding to reserves for the Waterfront Master Plan project, to save nearly $1.1 million more.
City treasurer Jane Qi said the tax levy increase had been reduced to 2.98 per cent.
Council directed staff to find further savings to reduce it further to 2.9 per cent even.
Councillor Terry Burrell, a chartered professional accountant, voted against that direction and the approval of the overall budget.
"When we are using surpluses and that to reduce the overall tax levy, it's not a wise thing to do, because that money is not built into the system," said Burrell. "That means, whenever you use those kinds of one-ofs to lower the tax rate, it means that in the next year... you have to do whatever you have to do, plus you have to try and recover that."
Burrell said you should only ever use surpluses on special projects that won't "come back to haunt you in the future."
"If you happen to get lucky and get a second surplus, then you can kind-of stumble forward and do that again. But at some point in time if you ever come to a year where you're in a deficit, or even break even, then you have a big, big, hole to try and fill because you've used these phoney monies."
Mayor Mike Bradley told councillor Burrell that normally he would agree with him.
"But, when I look at the number, which isn't huge in the size of the budget, it's really taking tax money already collected and putting it back in to lower the tax rate this year," said Bradley.
The general levy increase adds $31 per $100,000 of residential assessment on the municipal portion of the property tax bill.
In the $43.5 million capital budget, $3.5 million was approved for road rehabilitation, over $2 million for phase two of the Plank Road rehabilitation and nearly $8 million for combined sewer separation to reduce impacts of storm water on sanitary sewer systems.
$2 million has been dedicated to shoreline protection, $3.2 million for watermain replacement and $1 million for flood mitigation.
Progressive Auto Sales Arena will see over $1 million in improvements, including; phase three of ongoing roof replacement and a new gender-neutral dressing room.
$90,000 has been approved for replacement of the bleachers at Norm Perry Park, $550,000 for Tecumseh Park improvements, $300,000 for playground equipment replacement at several city parks and $335,000 for active transportation projects.
Council previously approved the 11.5 per cent Sarnia Police Services budget increase, as requested, during budget deliberations January 10.