Many residents feel employment impact

More than a third of Penticton residents who responded to an online survey reported their employment has been impacted by COVID-19, but the majority of those who answered weren’t looking for a major relief package from the city, according to results presented Thursday to council.

“The results from the residents are certainly concerning, but I think there’s a bit more balance there in a terms of a sense of optimism,” said communications manager Philip Cooper, who presented the survey results.

As for the business group, there was “definitely more concern across all categories,” Cooper said.

The two surveys were conducted April 8-16: one focused on COIVD19 impacts on Penticton citizens and the other on South Okanagan businesses.

The citizens’ survey received 1,046 responses. Of those, 53% came from people between the ages of 40 and 64.

And a total of 35% of respondents are retired.

All told, 37% of respondents reported their employment had been impacted by COVID-19, including 10% who’d been laid off.

Of those temporarily laid off, just 38% said they’re likely to be rehired, while only 19% of those permanently laid off said they’re likely to get their jobs back.

Yet despite the carnage in the labour force, a total of 58% of respondents said they wanted the city keep service levels the same and utility rates stable. Another 19% suggested a small reduction in property taxes and reduced services, while 16% favoured deferring payments of taxes and utility bills.

On their ability to pay city bills, just 60% said they be able to settle their property taxes on time by July 31, while only 67% reported they expect to be able to pay their utilities in three months.

And asked to rank some major capital projects in order of priority, 24% favoured flood protection and naturalization of Penticton Creek, 23% said the same for Ellis Creek, while 15% advocated for the lake-to-lake cycling route. Just 4% of respondents ranked downtown revitalization as the most important priority.

Meanwhile, the business survey received 330 responses, 89% of them from Penticton.

The pandemic has “significantly affected” 67% of businesses surveyed and resulted in reduced revenue or deal flow for 69% of them, according to the results.

In the big picture, 91% of respondents reported their revenue was down as a result of COVID019 and 44% said they’d already been forced to close.

On what relief measures they preferred, 51% of respondents wanted a three-month holiday on utility bills for those hit hardest by COVID-19, 44% wanted to defer property taxes without penalty and 40% wanted a refund of licence fees.