Niverville’s town council met with the Chamber of Commerce on June 21 to discuss a series of clarifications to the tax incentive policy (Resolution #142-16) announced last month.
The Chamber had expressed a number of concerns about who would qualify for the tax incentives, on what terms, and how council would go about approving applications. They also asked whether the extension of a significant grant to the Heritage Centre life lease project, the Town of Niverville’s own arm’s-length corporation, was an appropriate use of tax dollars. In addition, the Chamber expressed concerns that 142-16 was passed too quickly, too quietly, and without adequate consultation with the business community.
The Chamber requested a written response within three weeks.
On June 3, the town replied. “Council has been thinking about this policy matter for a considerable time,” they wrote, addressing the speed of 142-16’s rollout. “This has included discussions at various Planning Sessions and informal discussions with other municipal leaders at other board meetings and conferences. As Council recognized the urgency for answers that certain Chamber members were under, it believed it necessary to act quickly.”
The town declined to provide answers to the Chamber’s other questions in writing, requesting instead to discuss the various matters in person. “We would like to invite the Chamber to meet with us to discuss how we can both move forward together in building a stronger Niverville. The answers to your questions can be discussed in that forum including socio economic development for daycare and senior housing.”
Following that meeting on June 21, the Chamber released the following statement.
The Board of Directors of the Niverville Chamber of Commerce has had a productive and positive meeting with Niverville
Town Council regarding the town’s tax incentive policy Resolution #142-16.
Chamber met to seek clarification on a number of points related to the policy. We asked both for clarification of wording and intent so that business people in the Town of Niverville could clearly understand how the policy may or may not apply to them. There was open discussion and council agreed that areas of the policy needed rewording and increased detail.
The chamber and council will be working together to ensure that the policy meets the needs of both the business community and the town, so that there is transparency in its application and that all businesses are treated equitably.
The chamber is very pleased with the outcome of the meeting and the conciliatory approach taken by council in addressing the concerns of business.
A letter from the Chamber to its members further indicated that the town had agreed to rework the policy in one week’s time, and to review it in consultation with the Chamber.
