37% of 2024 River District (DIA) Budget Will Pay City of Owen Sound for Downtown Parking

Are a $5,000 board celebration and the City paying itself $96,000 for parking really a good use of DIA funds when the Downtown is in need of major support?

EDITORIAL

City Council has a staff memo in their Monday, January 15 meeting agenda recommending they approve the proposed River District budget for 2024. In addition to a 2% levy increase for downtown property owners who pay into the former DIA, they are being asked to approve the budget of $258,208, allocated as follows:

• $87,284 to spend on Marketing, close to 2x the $37,602 budget for 2023, which consists solely of City staff employee salary and benefits (more on that below)

• $31,300 to spend on Events

• $25,500 to spend on Beautification

• $6,700 to spend on Administration

• $96,000 to pay the City of Owen Sound for “free” parking

• $2,000 donation to ‘Citizen on Patrol,’ the only ‘Security’ expenditure

• $7,700 in Board Expenses, including $5,000 earmarked for ‘Celebration’

• $1,724 to add to Reserves

The parking payment to the City accounts for 37% of the levy downtown property owners pay as a mandatory surcharge on their tax bill, purportedly intended for downtown beautification, marketing, and improvements.

The River District Board of Management should have a Reserves balance of $150,436 by the end of 2024.

These are difficult times all around, particularly for small business owners. It seems every few weeks, we hear of another downtown business closing down for good. This budget deserves an open discussion at the council table. Let’s take a look at what’s at stake.

First, the relationship between the City of Owen Sound and the former Downtown Improvement Area (DIA) has become muddy in recent years. As a result, the current structure and governance of the River District organization sure seem to suggest the City of Owen Sound will pay itself $96,000 from one hand to another for “free” parking.

We’ll take a look at that. Then, we’ll look at specific line items in this budget through the lens of how they support the River District organization’s mandate of creating a thriving and safe business area in downtown Owen Sound.

Before we jump in, a quick question for you:

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