The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is already thinking of 2026 when it comes to taxes.
Mayor Darrin Canniff gave a presentation on Monday at CK council's meeting about future spending.
He specifically mentioned that he's recommending a tax increase of just 3 per cent, down from the 4.99 per cent increase for 2025.
Canniff explained they'll only get to this number if the federal and provincial governments provide adequate funding.
"We're so under funded as far as infrastructure goes," he said.
A big part of Canniff's presentation and a separate one from Gord Quinton, CK's Chief Financial Officer, talked about the lack of support from the upper levels of government.
One of the examples highlighted to back up this claim was the cap on funding from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF). CK is one of three municipalities who have a limit on how much it can receive, currently sitting at $10 million.
"If the cap was removed, we'd be getting another $15 million a year in capital funding," said Canniff.
He noted the municipality got this number from using OCIF's own formula for determining how much funding each area receives. The cap is reportedly in place after it was recommended by a third-party review.
It was also mentioned during Quinton's presentation that 75 to 90 per cent of the municipality's infrastructure costs were covered by the federal and provincial government around 30 years ago. Now it's sitting between 10 to 25 per cent.
Canniff also argued the municipality can't properly invest in itself since municipal funds are being used to pay for things that should or have been covered by the federal or provincial governments. This includes costs associated with homeless shelters and encampments.
Meanwhile, Canniff said he doesn't want the municipality to cut services to get to the 3 per cent recommendation.
There was a lot of anxiety during the last budget talks, specifically from rural residents, about things like libraries, museums, and fire stations having to close to limit the tax burden.
For Canniff, reaching the 3 per cent recommendation will solely depend on the upper levels of government.