The Essex Region Conservation Authority has passed its 2017 budget with a slight increase.
The $11.2-million budget will be bumped up by just under $91,000 amounting to 34 cents per Windsor-Essex household.
Highlights include opening the Cypher Systems Group Greenway connecting Essex with Amherstburg, rehabilitation of Sturgeon Creek in Leamington and erosion control projects totaling $2.1-million.
Municipalities will contribute just over $3-million to the budget with the other 75% coming through government funding and grants.
General Manager, Richard Wyma, says that's a unique situation.
"Our programs are 75% funded through non-levy dollars. I think that's pretty unique and I think that's a great example that we provide in the region and it shows that we do respect the fiscal realities of the projects and of the municipalities and we know the work that needs to be done in the region."
He says the Authority's operating deficit will be eliminated in the coming year as well.
"Over time, we had a historic accumulated operational deficit that was about $480,000. So we knew that we needed to find a way to bring that back down to zero. No one likes to see an organization with an operational deficit. So we did that over a period of five years. We'll see that eliminated in 2017 which is a really tremendous achievement."
Wyma says administration's original recommendation was for a $300,000 increase, but they were able to whittle that down.
"We knew that that was something that we needed to spend a little bit of time working on. So through our efforts of taking a look at how we might be able to move around some revenues, how we might be able to look at some of our existing staff capacities in terms of delivery of some of those programs we were able to bring that $300,000 down to $90,000, but still deliver some great projects for 2017."
At a board meeting Thursday night, ERCA City of Windsor representative, Fred Francis, made a motion for a 0% budget increase to be considered as well, but that was turned down by a vote of 15-2.
ERCA's 2017 budget will now go out to the city and surrounding municipalities for discussion.
Final approval should come sometime in February.