Windsor's budget approved, for now, with 3.15 per cent tax hike, saving tunnel bus service

City council has decided to keep the Transit Windsor tunnel bus running to Detroit, a move that means Windsor's overall tax increase will be slightly higher than the 2.99 per cent the mayor proposed. 

The tunnel bus was the centre of this year's budget debate after Mayor Drew Dilkens proposed cutting the service to help keep property tax increases below the rate of inflation. 

The international service falls under federal legislation that requires staff be able to take up to 10 paid sick days, which costs the city nearly $1.6 million each year. 

All 300 employees at Transit Windsor fall under the legislation, even though there's about 15 to 20 people who do work related to the bus each day, according to city staff. 

In a 7 to 4 vote, council decided to double the fare from $10 to $20 and continue to cover the remaining costs through property taxes. 

That bumps the property tax increase to 3.15 per cent, slightly higher than the 2.99 per cent budget Dilkens proposed — but well below the initial 12.99 per cent floated at the beginning of this process last year. 

This increase does come in above the rate of inflation, a campaign promise Dilkens has been serious about sticking to during his political career. 

Because of that, Dilkens says he's considering using a veto on the amendment which council could override with eight members voting against him. 

He has 10 days to make that decision. 

Transit Windsor operates the bus between Detroit and Windsor as a daily service with additional buses for special events. 

Downtown Coun. Renaldo Agostino said the city needs to try harder to recover the costs of the tunnel bus before eliminating the service.

He calls the service a "privilege" that would be next to impossible to replace if it was cut.

"Without putting in the work, it's just not worth throwing away," he told council.

Agostino said the city needs to do more to advertise the international bus route and reach out to other politicians for money, among other ideas. 

He said he sells organizations like the Detroit Free Press Marathon on partnering with downtown based off tunnel bus access. 

Coun. Kieran McKenzie said he'd support any amendment that doesn't lead to the service getting cut. 

"Wrapped up in that bus is a part of our identity as a community," he told council. 

Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac did not support keeping the international route active because of the costs associated with the additional sick days.

"It has just been the nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned," she said. 

Gignac noted that Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk supported saving the tunnel bus while putting in the legislation that increased the costs of the service. 

"At this point, it's just a burden that we expect all of our residents to pay for a very small number of people to utilize," she said. 

Coun. Gary Kaschak said he didn't like that the bus generally sends people to Detroit to spend money and comes back empty to Windsor. 

But he did support keeping the tunnel bus alive.

"We're not in an austerity program situation right now," said Kaschak.

Dilkens said that the problems with the tunnel bus costs are caused by the federal government changing legislation to add sick days that the city needs to pay for. 

Dilkens, Mark McKenzie, Ed Sleiman and Gignac voted against Agostino's proposal to keep the operation running. 

Mark McKenzie said that the tunnel bus should continue, but wanted the fare raised to $25.