A $1 million infusion to bolster the funding for the Invest North Bay Development Corporation (INBDC) was passed by City Council Tuesday evening. The development corporation was granted the money, which will come from the City's Property Development Reserve for "incentive funds, equity investment, and marketing" to help bring jobs and economic growth to North Bay.
See: Seven-figure ask from Invest North Bay on Council agenda
Chairman George Burton presented at Tuesday's meeting on behalf of the non-profit organization and clarified their structure saying, "We have Council [Mayor Al McDonald, Councillors Derek Shogren and Daryl Vaillancourt] on our board, we have City staff on our board, and we have a board of volunteers. Again, transparency in all we do is paramount."
Said Burton in closing his address to Council, "The ask is for Council to allocate one million dollars to Invest North Bay[...]We need the flexibility to respond to opportunities as they arise.
"We do know that our marketing will be scientifically based, we do know that investment incentives are just part of the economic development game. One million dollars is a lot of money in one respect, and not a lot of money in another when you take a look at what's happening in the marketplace around investment attraction, not only in this province and across Canada, but around the world."
It was not a unanimous decision, as Councillors George Maroosis, Mark King and Mike Anthony all raised concerns about either the amount or the schedule of the funding (or both). Maroosis went so far as to suggest that the matter be referred back to the committee level, saying he was "disappointed," that the financial details of INBDC were not being given a chance to be more thoroughly examined by Council.
Anthony attempted to amend the allocation to four $250,000 payments over four years, contingent on Council review after the first year but gained no support around the table.
INBDC has received $140,000 in each of the past three years, but of that $420,000, in excess of $300,000 remains in the corporation's coffers. The $1 million ask is above and beyond what has already been allocated.
"We take the amount of money we've asked for very seriously," said Burton, adding "the benefit will be in multiples."
King cited tough economic realities as his reason for dissenting, calling it a level of "risk tolerance," that the citizens could not stomach.
"Longterm, the investment corporation becomes self-sustaining[...]Our intention is not to continue to come back to Council for financial support," said Burton in response to Anthony's question about INBDC's business plan.
"The taxpayer is watching," Maroosis warned his fellow Councillors before the vote was taken.
