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As Detroit finalizes the terms of the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history this week, its across-the-river Canadian neighbour is boasting a fiscal record the envy of any city its size on the continent: five years without a tax hike, an eight-figure paydown of municipal debt, all while weathering the effects of Ontario manufacturing’s collapse.

“We’ve broken with political tradition, obviously,” said Eddie Francis, mayor of the city of Windsor, population 210,000.

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On Monday, for the sixth consecutive year, Windsor City Council approved a budget that contained zero tax increases.

Meanwhile, the city has reduced its debt from a 2002 high of $230-million to $110-million. City reserves have also swelled to $114-million from $42-million.

Uncharacteristic for a city undergoing deep austerity, Windsor has also embarked on a $1.5-billion infrastructure campaign: bike paths, upgraded libraries, a new aquatics centre and the new WFCU Centre, home of the Windsor Spitfires, all paid for with cash upfront.