Parry Sound 2017 Budget – First Look
26 Saturday Nov 2016
Written by parry034 in Budget/Financial, Parry Sound
Tags
budget, economic development, Infrastructure, Opinion, parry sound, TOPS Financial Analysis, Town Council
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The draft Parry Sound 2017 budget is available for public viewing. It is a longer document, 144 pages, presented in a reasonably easy to digest format. I have gone through the budget document and made some markups on points that caught my attention. I will return to the document for a more detailed review. At this point I intend to forgo any type of review and analysis of the budget pending attendance at the budget meeting on the 29th. (Note: it starts at 6:00 in the council chambers.) I want to see if more detail comes out of the presentation and discussion. There are plans to include a session open to the public at the conclusion of the meeting to address questions and receive comments.
Here is a link to the Town of Parry Sound 2017 budget at the Town’s website:
Here is a link to my markup of the budget. This includes some notes and highlights of points I found interesting. Feel free to ignore my scratches and just review the Town’s original draft version above. (Note: the green highlights are mine as well as the hen scratches. As I discovered towards the end of the document HHW refers to household hazardous waste.)
Hmmm. Something’s Going On! (Click to Enlarge)
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November 26, 2016 at 3:49 pm
How much has the Town earmarked for Tourism? I will state that Tourism is important to Ontario and Parry Sound District, but is #6 on my list of economic importance to the Town proper. Our biggest Tourist attraction is the Island Queen who do “their own advertising” and would not expect the taxpayers of Parry Sound to subsidize their efforts….here is a letter I wrote on this 18 years ago.
To the Editor— North Star Publications— Parry Sound, December 31st, 1998
I have always been an advocate of anything that will enhance the image of the town of Parry Sound such as the “Old Fire Hall Museum” in the downtown core. This site has been visited by hundreds of locals, tourists, area campers and cottagers and many active and retired fire fighters from all over the world during the past three summers. But there is an ongoing misconception in Parry Sound about our annual visitors that has always bothered me. This is the tendency by those who are involved in area tourism promotions, to lump all of our seasonal visitors, and their resultant economic impact on the Parry Sound Area, and in particular to the Town of Parry Sound, as “Tourists”.
In fact the largest percentage of these visitors are regular area “Cottagers”, area “Campers”, our own relatives and friends or former residents just coming home for a visit.
In fact tourists comprise the lower end of the economic impact scale in percentage terms when compared to area cottagers for example. I garnered this knowledge after being in the area “wholesale dairy business” for twenty-five years.
Tourists are Georgian Bay boaters who ply the inland waterways and frequent our transient marina and who may purchase fuel at local marinas and a meal or two for example, or visitors on cruise ships with brief stopovers who may have time to buy some souvenirs and have a side trip on the Island Queen or Chippewa, charter buses with passengers for the 30,000 Island Cruise ship who may or may not stop for a meal break, and private auto visitors who may spend the afternoon on the Chippewa and an evening at the Festival of the Sound, buy a meal, see the sights, and then quickly continue on their way. That is why they are called tourists. They do not stay for any length of time in any one place and, except for a meal and a tank of gas, a milkshake, and a souvenir, and possibly an overnight stay while passing through the area, they do not contribute as excessively to the overall Town economy as we are led to believe they do. Their impact on local employment is grossly overstated, although they do have a measurable impact on sales in some retail stores in July and August
A tourist is basically in and out of the area in twenty-four to forty eight hours, does not patronize Laundromats (other than at the transient marina), grocery stores, Beaver lumber, Ross windows, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware etc., or seek any professional services for example, but possibly visits the Liquor store, the Beer store, gas bars, restaurants and Motels. The main exception are those people who have extended visits to our area “Resorts”, none of which are within our town boundaries, but some of whom do shop for supplies in Parry Sound and also offer summer employment. On the other hand, the thousands of area cottagers and campers within a 15 mile radius will patronize almost every facet of our Town business community year after year, and will continue to do so no matter what tourist attractions we build or don’t build..
In your North Star Editorial column of Wednesday, December 23, 1998, you reported that a “tourism infrastructure feasibility study” (boy do I ever miss using that elongated inter and intra-governmental terminology) had determined that “two-thirds” of the Area jobs are tourism “related”
The message they are really trying to imply on the unsuspecting public in Parry Sound & Area is that two-thirds of the area jobs are “dependent” on tourism for their existence, which is a complete fabrication.
It could no doubt be debated that two-thirds of the people who work in the area have “some” direct or indirect contact with tourists from time to time, (such as a meter maid handing out a parking ticket downtown) and therefore they are not completely incorrect when they say these jobs are “ tourism related”, but their percentages and impact statements are still greatly exaggerated. And why not?
On the other hand, I suppose it could also be debated that government departments that spend our tax dollars on consultants to map out mega- tourism infrastructure projects are in “philanthropy related” jobs.
Clifford A Beagan – a watch- dog- committee of one.
November 26, 2016 at 8:41 pm
Ah, I’m honoured to follow in your tradition of thinking a little more deeply about what may, or may not, be so obvious. There is no question that Parry Sound has a role to play in the tourism game, but as part of a regional investment. The tourist destinations as you clearly identified in your letter are not located in the Town of Parry Sound, they are in the surrounding municipalities. We need to help our neighbours succeed so that we all succeed, but they seem uninterested in leading a tourism charge. Perhaps it’s because the locals, and the upscale cottagers, resent the intrusion of tourists and visitors. They don’t like to share.
Parry Sound isn’t a true tourist destination largely because of the trains running through town. I have been told that tourists on many occasions have left after a single night in a downtown B&B or hotel because of the racket of the trains, day and night. We aren’t a quaint little town. We are a commercial centre with the benefits and liabilities that come with that role. As you identified in your letter, tourists and cottagers come to Parry Sound to get a limited number of services as they vacation in the surrounding municipalities. Perhaps with Parry Sound taking a tourism lead the others will follow. But I suspect they fear that getting too close to Parry Sound may lead to even closer relations which would screw up their business model. Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for pennies on the litre.
November 26, 2016 at 4:05 pm
If you ever witness a Tourist coming out of Home Depot with a cart full of 2 x 4’s, please publish a picture. If you ever see a Tourist coming out of a Dental office, a Lawyers office, an Accountants office, etc., etc., please take a picture and publish it. You will see a Sasquatch long before you see the above. LOL
November 26, 2016 at 8:42 pm
How about coming out of the hospital? Doesn’t count, does it?