Lambton County Council has approved a $197-million budget, raising taxes 1.94% for 2016.
Wednesday's meeting started at a proposed 3.34% increase and was reduced to 2.49% thanks to a mild winter and surplus in the court services department.
Roughly 1.4% or $959,000 was eliminated in total. $70.5-million will be raised through local property taxes.
Council voted 28 to nine in favour of cutting $400,000 from the opportunities and contingencies reserve.
The county will spend $75,000 to erect a new gateway sign along Hwy. 402 this year, and will hire a project manager to coordinate local agencies on welcoming refugees to the community.
Councillors denied two grant requests, a $321,000 request from Sarnia-Lambton Rebound for the creation of a youth hub and $6,000 from the Sarnia Historical Society for projects.
Warden Bev MacDougall says she's pleased with the final number and how council handled tough decisions.
"I am very, very grateful for that respect that exists amongst the councillors serving in this government, and the understanding of other pressures that are providing real hardship in some lower-tier municipalities," she says.
Lambton County Council made previous committments totaling $4.8-million for improving social housing and Lambton College's building campaign.
$400,000 from the 2015 year end surplus is set aside for the county's potential participation in the SouthWest Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) project.
$26-million has been allocated for 73 capital projects including road resurfacing.
General Manager John Innes says this year's budget faced large provincial funding cutbacks.
He says he's pleased with the 1.94% increase, which sits slightly less than the rate of inflation.
"We try and balance the need for funding against the responsibility of ensuring that we're not taking any more dollars out of the pockets of ratepayers than is absolutely necessary," says Innes.
St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold and Warwick Mayor Todd Case both voted against the budget.
As for City of Sarnia taxpayers, the blended tax increase will be about 3% when county, educational and municipal portions are factored in.
