Final effort planned to save incentive funding
Regional councillors being urged not to cut $600K from Smarter Niagara Incentive Program
As local municipalities look to incentives programs in the hope of bolstering development, Niagara Region is considering cutting funding for its incentives.
Niagara’s 2020 budget — approved at last week’s budget review committee meeting — cut $600,000 in funding to re-establish a base budget for the Region’s Smarter Niagara Incentive Program (SNIP) — deferring the program which had been used to match incentives provided by lower-tier municipalities until
2022.
But Welland Mayor Frank Campion said he hasn’t given up on urging re- gional councillors to reconsider on Thursday as they take a last look at next year’s budget, already set to increase taxes by 5.85 per cent.
“I haven’t lost it yet. I have one more kick at this one,” Campion said.
In St. Catharines, senior planner Bruce Bellows described the incentive program as “a worthwhile venture, and I think it would be worthwhile for the Region to top up the incentives that we give.”
But, he added, it might “dissuade some developers from accessing the fund if they can’t get a regional matching incentive, but that depends on the individual developer, the property, the development concept.”
And St. Catharines has seen a great deal of investment as result of incentives offered over the past 15 years, according to Bellows.
Bellows said St. Catharines tax-base has grown by more than $395 million as a direct result of about $20 million of incentives that were provided to the developers of 98 projects.
“We’ve had a lot of uptake. We’ve been quite successful.”
The investment has also resulted in the construction of 2,100 homes and led to the creation of 280 permanent jobs.
Campion said his city has seen substantial investment as a result of incentive programs, too.
Welland has seen more than $33 million in private sector investment as a result of city and Region incentives totalling less than $482,000. The city is expecting $59 million in additional private investment as a result of brownfield incentives.
Campion said it’s “very easy to rationalize” the need for the programs.
He suggested tapping into Niagara’s $19-million rate stabilization reserve to provide the $600,000 to continue providing SNIP funding next year.
“It won’t affect the tax rate at all. It’s funding set up from a reserve to fund that type of thing,” he said.
Although a recent study by KPMG presented to councillors in early November determined incentive programs had no impact on Niagara’s assessment growth and attributed the increase to the growth of Canada’s and Ontario’s economies, Campion said the incentives provide other benefits for municipalities.
For instance, he said incentives can help guide development to fill needs within the community such as affordable housing.
Meanwhile, Bellows said St. Catharines is moving forward with its incentive programs.
Thursday, St. Catharines will invite residents to a meeting at city hall to discuss the city’s incentive programs. The public meeting starts at 6 p.m. Bellows said the city plans to re-focus its incentives to support affordable housing, the redevelopment of plazas, mixed-use developments, heritage preservation and brownfield projects.