New cash for municipalities will help Windsor tackle deficit: mayor

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is expressing confidence in tackling the city's budget deficit thanks to an investment of $1 billion for municipalities announced in the provincial budget.

Windsor City Council passed a budget without a tax increase in January, with the intention that other levels of government would help close a $38-million gap.

So far, enough funding has come through to eliminate $19 million of that deficit. 

Wednesday's budget included nearly a billion dollars for Ontario's 444 municipalities, to aid in COVID-19 recovery and preserve public services. It's in addition to the $4 billion in municipal funding from the federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement.

The city will be applying for a slice of that funding, Dilkens said.

"Knowing that there's a billion dollars there, we feel comfortable that the losses we're incurring, much like the losses we incurred last year, will be reimbursed by the province," Dilkens said on CBC Radio's Windsor Morning.

LISTEN: Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens on the Ontario budget

Dilkens said the city is taking "all measures possible" to mitigate losses, but is feeling the effects of the closure of Caesars Windsor, and the drastic reduction in traffic at the airport and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

"All of those revenue streams have basically dried up," he said.

The casino alone contributes about $11 million to the city's bottom line annually through gaming revenues.

The budget also delivered on what Dilkens said was the top item on his wish list — funding to support the building of a new acute care hospital.

The budget included $9.8 million to support the ongoing planning of the hospital, which is slated to be built at a 24-hectare site at County Road 42 and the 9th Concession.

"We're just elated that Doug Ford delivered for the City of Windsor, that our new hospital is moving to the next phase and it's just exciting for the delivery of great health care down in Windsor-Essex today," Dilkens said.