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London city council will have to balance “care and cost,” Mayor Ed Holder says, as it grapples with provincial downloading and a steeply escalating price tag for ambulance service that’s putting big pressure on taxpayers.

A four-year budget with $183 million in potential new spending was tabled at city hall on Tuesday, with potential tax hikes ranging between 3.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent on average from 2020 to 2023.

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Exactly where that tax hike lands will be up to council, which will debate the budget over the next two months.

“Ultimately there’s only one taxpayer, and we’re respectful of that,” Holder said.

“In the insurance business we used to call it risk tolerance, but really, you’re trying to balance care and cost, and that’s what we’ve always tried to do.”

Council, sitting as the strategic priorities and policy committee, voted unanimously, 14-0 (Coun. Phil Squire was absent), to add a second public meeting in February where Londoners can weigh in on their own priorities.