Warden Highlights Local Government Week, Chairs Final Meeting of Council Term

Warden Hilda MacDonald offered condolences to all those affected by the tragic incident at CFB Wainwright in Alberta in her opening remarks and highlighted the work of municipal employees during Local Government Week, encouraging young people to consider a career in the municipal sector.

“Let’s shine a light on all the things municipal employees do right – the work that happens behind the scenes and rarely makes headlines yet helps make our communities safer, stronger and more welcoming places to live,” said MacDonald. “Municipal government offers rewarding and fulfilling careers, with opportunities to make a positive difference in the communities we serve.”

MacDonald offered congratulations to County of Essex employee Danielle Dunlop, who was recently named Director of Health/Community Services and Administrator of Sun Parlor Home, and Deputy Solicitor Claire Bebbington, who was recently named Acting Director of Human Resources. She also offered kudos to Donald McArthur, Manager of Communications and Employee Engagement, for obtaining his Diploma in Municipal Administration from the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario.

Chairing her final meeting of this Council term, the Warden thanked council members for their service to their constituents and the County.

“We can look back on this term with pride. Together, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our road network, strengthened our emergency medical services and made important investments to prepare Essex County for future growth. We have done so while maintaining the County’s strong financial position,” said MacDonald. “We also adopted the County’s first-ever Strategic Plan, establishing a shared vision of regional prosperity and priorities to guide our work in the years ahead.”

Council Receives Quarterly Procurement Report

In accordance with the County’s Procurement Policy, Council received a report highlighting contracts exceeding $500,000 that were completed between July 1 and September 30 and were within budget and free of procurement irregularities. Four contracts exceeded the reporting threshold during the quarter, totalling about $11.2 million.

“These procurements supported critical County operations and infrastructure, including a new ambulance remount for EMS and major transportation infrastructure projects and associated inspection services within Infrastructure and Planning Services,” said the report.

Council Receives Procurement Update

Council received a report from Melissa Ryan, Director, Financial Services/Treasurer, highlighting procurements for goods and services that exceeded their budgets for the period from August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026.

“During the reporting period, seven procurements exceeded their individual approved budgets. Three were previously reported to and approved by Council, three were within 10% of their approved budgets and were managed administratively, and one additional procurement was approved within the delegated authority established under the Procurement Policy,” said a report to Council. “The seven procurements resulted in a combined gross over-budget variance of $581,353. Appropriate funding was identified for each variance, and no additional levy funding or funding approval is required through this report.”

View a list of the procurements.

Commodity Price Hedging Strategy Update

Council received a report summarizing the County’s participation in the Local Authority Services (LAS) Electricity and Natural Gas Procurement Programs and outlining the benefits of price hedging as a risk management tool.

“The Corporation continues to participate in the LAS procurement programs to reduce exposure to energy commodity price volatility and improve budget certainty,” said the report. “Administration reviewed alternative electricity hedge levels for 2027 and determined that maintaining the current 50% hedging level remains the most appropriate balance between cost certainty and market exposure.”

Council Receives Multiple Pieces of Correspondence

Council voted to receive six pieces of official correspondence, including:

1. A bundle of news communications from the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI), including Upcoming Events, Latest News and the latest newsletter.
2. A bundle of news communications from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), including AMO News release Updates, AMO Watchfile Newsletter and AMO Policy Advocacy Updates.
3. A news release from the Province of Ontario announcing its $44-million investment to fund 2,077 additional seats at the University of Windsor, Lambton College and St. Clair College to connect more students to good-paying, in-demand careers.
4. A newsletter from the Windsor Essex Chamber of Commerce.
5. An update on the Fancsy Family Hospital Project.
6. The latest Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island (TWEPI) newsletter.

Council Receives Report on County Road 50 Feasibility Study

A feasibility study examining solutions for active transportation improvements and recurring flooding on County Road 50 from west of Conservation Boulevard to Lake Drive in Kingsville identified as a preferred concept an enclosed storm sewer system and paved shoulders.

“The corridor presents several challenges, including a narrow right-of-way, existing utilities, and adjacent existing residential development,” said a report to Council. “As a result, additional technical analysis is required to refine the proposed design, confirm drainage requirements, and determine applicable approvals and permitting needs for the proposed improvements.”

Council received the report and voted to have the costs for continued work on the planning, design and implementation of the improvements referred to 2027 Budget deliberations.

Read the report!

Council Receives Pre-Budget Report

The draft budget estimates a 2027 County tax levy requirement of about $152.7 million and a projected tax-rate increase of about 4.17 per cent, based on currently available assessment growth information.

“The 2027 budget is being developed during a period of significant financial pressure. Compensation and benefit increases are expected to account for approximately 2.91% of the projected tax-rate increase, before consideration of staffing, operating, capital, reserve and service-related requirements,” said a report to Council from Melissa Ryan, Director, Financial Services/Treasurer. “Additional budget pressures include inflationary increases in contracted services and operating costs, asset management and reserve funding requirements, roadway expansion, EMS service requirements, social housing and other externally administered programs.”

The draft budget is not yet final and further changes are expected before the 2027 proposed budget is presented to Council for deliberation on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Read the pre-budget report!

Council Approves Essex-Windsor EMS Response Time Performance Plan

Council approved the 2027 Response Time Performance Plan for Essex-Windsor EMS, which maintains existing targets.

“Response time is measured from the time the ambulance communication service notifies the ambulance service of a call to the time the ambulance service arrives at the scene,” said a report to Council from Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Justin Lammers. “For sudden cardiac arrest reporting, the measure includes the arrival of a person equipped to provide defibrillation, which may include paramedics or another eligible responder.”

The report acknowledges there are “broader system pressures affecting ambulance availability and response capacity” and notes that call volumes continue to rise, from 63,893 incidents in 2023, to 65,513 in 2024 to 68,420 in 2025.

“While improvements have been achieved in several areas, including reductions in unstaffed hours, limited resource notifications and offload delays compared to historical levels, system demand continues to increase,” said the report. “These trends reinforce the need to assess future performance using a broad system perspective rather than response times alone.”

A new Medical Priority Dispatch System was recently launched for the Windsor-Essex region. The system, employed successfully elsewhere across the province, is designed to ensure that paramedics are dispatched more efficiently – and more quickly – to the most urgent, life-threatening emergencies.

Read more about MPDS!