Kingsville passes 1.2% tax increase

By Mark Ribble

KINGSVILLE — The 2021 municipal tax increase for the Town of Kingsville is being held at 1.2 per cent.

When combined with the County and Education tax rate, the overall residential tax rate increase will be 0.8 per cent.

Mayor Nelson Santos said that the original draft came in higher, but they managed to chip away at it and get it down to the 1.2 per cent they settled on.

“We made lots of small cuts,” he said. “There wasn’t one big thing we eliminated to get to our total.”

The town did hold off on hiring an Economic Development Officer, which was a position they were poised to fill this year. They were able to identify additional revenue by cutting some smaller projects, but Santos pointed out that they are moving forward with some good projects.

“We’ve got some pretty aggressive capital expenditures,” he said.

NELSON SANTOS

Santos cited $19 million to be spent on bridges, roads and parks within the community, with a goal to have those projects completed this year.

With the COVID situation, he cautioned that restrictions may slow them down with some of the park additions.

Among the park additions, they plan on constructing a children’s splash pad at Lakeside Park, a brand new community park in Ruthven, planned development of Lions Park and construction of pickleball and bocce courts at the Kingsville Arena complex.

Also, extensive and complete reconstruction of Jasperson Drive is on the agenda, as they make room and get their ducks in order for the construction of the new K-12 public school. The reconstruction of Road 2 East from Union to Graham Side Road is also on the books to complete this year.

“We’re making progressive steps forward,” he said. “We’re proud to be able to deliver excellent services, while maintaining a responsible budget.

Kingsville currently has the second lowest tax levy in Essex County.

Santos also noted that, to help business and industry, the provincial Education Tax was held at zero, which translates to about a $370 savings per $100,000 in assessment for commercial and industrial properties in the municipality.

“We recognize that small business is struggling in these challenging times,” he said.

Last year’s budget increase in Kingsville was 1.4 per cent.