Windsor’s incumbent mayor wants to increase financial oversight and have city councillors play a bigger role in handling and understanding the city’s finances if he’s re-elected. During a news conference Thursday, Drew Dilkens announced that if he’s re-elected mayor, he would establish a new, permanent Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Development. “Not just a spotlight on finance at budget time but one that is embedded in the culture of city hall and one that has councillors actively engaged in finding revenue-generating options but also looking at the budget more regularly,” he says. The council committee would be designed to address fiscal, budgetary, and investment attraction policies year-round. The mayor must present the proposed budget under Ontario’s Strong Mayor Powers, at which point the council would have 30 days to review and make any recommendations for change. Ahead of the 2025 city budget, Dilkens established three different committees that were tasked with finding savings as Windsor faced its highest tax increase in 20 years, but he says they didn’t achieve the outcomes he hoped for. Dilkens says he sees council doing the important work 12 months of the year to give them a greater influence on the finances. “They will be stronger if they have a dedicated standing committee that focuses on finance, where there are no surprises, where they can get their fingers into the details of how city hall operates, where the money is going, what the reserves look like, and what the debt levels look like,” he says. Dilkens says what he’s trying to do is get council involved in a deeper way. “Ultimately, what I’m trying to drive here is better council engagement on the budget but also trying to drive better results for residents of the city of Windsor,” he says. “Some of the things that the council touches through this committee, I suspect there probably won’t be any material change financially on the other end. But they will be better formed on how the city operates as an organization, a $1.3 billion organization.” Dilkens also committed to working to keep property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation for the next term. The 11 candidates running for Windsor mayor are Benjamin Danyluk, Aaron Day, Drew Dilkens (incumbent), Fred Francis, Dylon Graves, Tara Grayer, Nick Kolasky, Tristan Ty Morencie, Kat Pasquach, Patrick Sutherland, and Louis Vaupotic. The municipal election is set to take place October 26.
