Four hospital levy questions, one deadline: the City reply is due Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Reply clock: we asked the City four on-the-record questions about the 1% hospital levy, including its final year and what comes after. Reply due Tuesday, 5 p.m. Any answer, or non-answer, goes on our Questions page.

Topics: HealthMoney and taxes

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Windsor News is waiting on answers from the City of Windsor to four on-the-record questions about the 1% hospital levy. The questions went to the City's corporate communications staff by email on Friday, Oct. 9, with a reply requested by Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 5 p.m.

What the levy is

On April 25, 2016, Windsor City Council voted 9-1 in favour of a levy to cover 54%, or $108.5 million, of the local share of the new Windsor-Essex hospital system, Windsor Regional Hospital says. The Windsor Star reported at the time that the levy was set to run for 14 years. Ontario pays most of the cost of building a new hospital, and the City and the County cover the local share.

What we asked

What is the exact final year the levy will be collected?

When it ends, will the 1% stay in the base budget, come off the tax bill, or be redirected, and if so, to what?

How much has the levy collected to date, and where does it appear in the 2025 and 2026 budgets?

Does the City expect its $108.5 million share to rise as project costs go up, and if so, how would the extra be funded?

What happens next

As of Monday morning, Oct. 12, the City had not replied. Monday is the Thanksgiving statutory holiday.

Whatever the City sends, including a reply that does not answer the questions, will be posted on the Windsor News Questions page. If no reply arrives by the deadline, the page will say so. Readers who asked about the levy can find the background in our Oct. 11 explainer.