Niagara Falls Business Owners Against Proposed BIA Levy Increase

A handful of owners have written to the City against a proposed levy increase to the Queen Street BIA's budget.

Roberts Jewellers co-owner Carmen Tartaglia says the BIA is proposing an increase of at least 86 percent so it can up it's budget for next year.

"We don't want the budget increase and we don't want council to approve it. We want council to give us all an opportunity with all people who are able to attend."

The BIA approved a budget of $400,248 and a levy of $390,248 at it's Annual General Meeting on November 5th.

But Tartaglia says the meeting was held virtually and some business owners were unable to vote and voice their concerns.

City Council will look over the proposed levy at it's meeting on Tuesday, and Tartaglia is hoping the councillors will be understanding.

"We hope that council can understand our situation. I know several landlords, including Keefer Developments which is one of the biggest, they're all concerned. We just want council to take that into consideration and give us a fair chance to voice our concerns."

He is hardly the only BIA member who is concerned about the matter. We have heard from several others, who are also deeply concerned about the potential increase. 

The Queen Street BIA has issued the following statement regarding the issue. 

“There are instances of some property owners/businesses only going up by only $20-30 per month. The formula for calculating a levy is not a straight percentage. So it is unlikely that the vast majority of the membership will see an 86% increase. While the rate based on percentage seems scary, in actuality, the dollar amount may be small! 

We understand that larger property owners and foreign investors, both with chronically vacant buildings due to lack of upkeep and upgrades will not be pleased with the increase and the removal of the vacancy tax rebate. This is especially true to those who use downtown to park money in buildings while they’re property values increase in downtowns across Ontario. However, we are working towards revitalizing the downtown and increasing economic growth, and property owners who have successfully maintained their buildings or invested in upgrades to attract tenants will only benefit from our activities. If you would like to be part of the process, we have numerous committees that make these decisions, and we would love to have you!

The BIA would be more than happy to speak to each member if necessary to explain the BIA mandate, the role of the board, the process, budget, and your rights as a tenant. We encourage members to call the office – we’ll even check to tell you exactly how much your levy will actually be increasing.”