The Downtown Guelph Business Association is looking to grow.
Executive Director Marty Williams appeared at City Council Monday night to ask them to start the process needed to expand its boundary that has been in place since the DGBA was first formed in 1972,
Council agreed to initiate that process by an 11-1 vote.
Coun. Mike Salisbury, who had concerns about initiating the process before knowing what future budget implications it might have for the city, was the lone councillor voting against it. Coun. Mark MacKinnon was absent.
Staff indicated that potential financial impacts on the rest of the city budget would be brought back to council before they make a final decision.
Notices will now go out to commercial property owners in the expanded zone and they will have until Aug. 6 to notify business owners operating on their property of the proposed changes, which would mean an additional tax levy if successful.
Those business owners would have until Sept. 5 to notify City Hall if they object.
Not objecting implies support, council heard.
Council will have final say if the boundary expansion happens.
“We believe the time is right and respectfully ask you to let the process begin,” Williams said.
The proposed new boundary would expand the DGBA west to
The move would see the DGBA increase by roughly 100 members, up to 550, and add around $100,000 to its roughly $500,000 annual budget.
Members of the DGBA pay a special tax levy to fund the organizations activity.
Those activities include enhanced streetscaping such as flowers, bike racks and benches, advocacy for DGBA members (usually on municipal issues) and attracting people to the DGBA’s area via special events.
Change to the boundary is a process done through the Municipal Act.
Several councillors expressed concern that the process was taking place during the summer months. Others wondered about possible budget implications to the city down the road.
Staff said it would report on those possibilities prior to council’s final decision.
Williams said the DGBA is doing “everything it can to make noise about this” and fully inform those businesses in the expanded area what the implications are.
“Having more people paying into the levy means we have more operational dollars to do things with,” Williams said in an interview.
“The first order of business is to help understand what we can do for people.”
