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notllocal.com MARCH 29, 2023 Volume 5 • Issue 13
Budget approval postponed as council debate continues Zahraa Hmood The Local
Spectacular surprise rainbow Owen Bjorgan has shared his all-time favourite photo, taken from his front porch Sunday. He said he was outside with the family dogs when he believed he saw a bald eagle fly in front of Brock’s Monument. He grabbed his zoom lens, and although the eagle was gone, “a surprise rainbow performed the ultimate display of beauty over the Niagara Escarpment,” making a great end to what had been a busy day for the tour guide.
The clock ran out during what was supposed to be councillors’ last meeting on the 2023 budget: with a hard stop at 6 p.m., at which time Tuesday’s council meeting was to start, the operating budget failed to pass. Last-ditch efforts by councillors, first Sandra O’Connor, then Wendy Cheropita, to reduce the planned tax hike of 8.85 per cent, or approximately $108.22 for the average residents, failed. Council was able to approve plans to spend $9.96 million on capital projects during its special meeting on Tuesday, March 28, but when faced with its plans to spend $43.9 million on operations, the three-hour meeting ended with no time left to put that budget to an approval vote. Senior staff have reiterated
throughout budget proceedings that the town is facing financial pressures this year as a result of inflation, rising insurance rates, increasing wages to keep up with rising cost of living adjustments, and an increase in pensions under the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System (OMERS). “2023 is largely seen as an investment year that’s seeing significant investments in operating and capital,” said finance director Kyle Freeborn. The largest portion of 2023 operating expenses will be spent on salaries, benefits and other personnel costs, at nearly 36 per cent of the budget. Thirty-six per cent of its revenues will come from the tax levy, at $15 million, and user fees and penalties at 39 per cent. For residents in urban
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Businesses rebounding, a strong season anticipated Sharon Burns The Local
Tulips are poking through the soil, spring flowers are being planted in sidewalk boxes, and local businesses are preparing for tourist season. There are signs that it will be a good year for them, with last season showing the industry bouncing back, recovering from two seasons through the pandemic. “2022 was a very strong
year for us tourism-wise, and we expect that this year will be even stronger,” Niagaraon-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce President Minerva Ward told The Local. Hotels and B&Bs enjoyed very good occupancies and very strong rates, retailers did well, and wineries reported good revenues, said Ward. “Even our outlet mall has reported strong revenues, despite the bus traffic not coming back.” “We are incredibly proud
of how we have begun to recover,” said Paul MacIntyre, vice-president of operations for Vintage Hotels. “We definitely have seen a travel resurgence, and ranking second in Canada as Best of the Best popular destinations shows the commitment towards recovering with the highest level of service and hospitality to our guests,” said MacIntyre, referring to Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Popular Destination in
Canada award. “We also all have a loyal guest following and an extremely high guest return rate,” said MacIntyre. However, he added, “as a destination during recovery we provided these experiences within changing expectations, continued labour shortages and rising costs. It hasn’t been easy.” What the retailers have missed, but are hoping to see this season, is the volume from bus traffic, said Ward.
“The U.S. border restrictions have been lifted completely, so we expect to see some U.S. bus traffic come back. Last year the border restrictions were lifted very late in the season and even then there was still a lot of confusion about ArriveCAN.” “Destination Canada is advertising in the U.S. that Canada is now open, and we expect that to yield results to bring back bus traffic.” Ward noted that Niagaraon-the-Lake will not see
increased visitors from all countries just yet. “China still has restrictions on its citizens travelling. We expect to see some, but not to pre-COVID levels. Chinese visitors,” she added, “spend significantly at the wineries. Other communities such as Yellowknife also saw that market completely disappear. As restrictions lift in China, and people get more comfortable travelling, they
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