Mayor Neil Ellis proposes reducing property tax increase, using speeding tickets to fund The Bridge and doctor recruitment

From the Mayor’s Office | Mayor Neil Ellis will be bringing forward a proposal to forego the 2025 portion of the 1% tax increase previously committed in the City’s budget to fund The Bridge and instead, direct revenue from the City’s Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) program to both The Bridge project and the City’s Doctor Recruitment Program.

The ASE program was introduced earlier this year. Speed cameras were installed in community safety zones on Sidney Street, Harder Drive, Victoria Avenue and College Street East, capturing images of vehicles travelling above the posted speed limit and issuing tickets accordingly.

See the below statement from Mayor Ellis:

“There has been a lot of speculation about the threshold of the ASE cameras, however, I can guarantee that they are set to more than ‘just a few’ kilometres over the posted limit. In fact, I would encourage anyone who has or receives a ticket for a violation between 41 km/hour and the mid-40s over the next two weeks to bring their ticket to City Hall and I will personally pay it myself. This program is an important public safety initiative aimed at keeping our residents safe. While revenue generation is not the goal, I will ensure that any excess funding from this program be directed to the most important areas. The Bridge project is designed to fill a major gap in our community, providing essential services to those experiencing homelessness. And while our doctor recruitment efforts have had great success, attracting 52 doctors to the region since its inception, there is still a significant disparity with over 30 still required to meet the needs of our residents. That is why I will be proposing all revenue generated from the speed cameras go towards funding these two critical programs, during the 2025 Operating Budget for Council’s consideration in February. This new direction would ease the burden on taxpayers by foregoing the 2025 portion of the 1% tax increase originally committed over the next two years.”

City of Belleville on Facebook

The proposal will be part of the 2025 budget discussions in February 2025.