Supporting Downtown While Being Fair To Every Midland Business

Our downtown is an important part of Midland. It is where we gather for festivals, celebrations and community events, and our downtown businesses contribute significantly to the character and vibrancy of our community.

I strongly support continuing to invest in our downtown.

But as Mayor, I also have a responsibility to every business in Midland.

Recently, questions have been raised about whether downtown businesses should receive free vendor booths at Town-supported events like Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival, because they pay a BIA levy. After some debate, Council decided to waive the fees for 2027 primarily because this is a change and we want to measure the participation and interest.

I think it is important to distinguish between the role of the BIA and the role of the Town.

The BIA exists specifically to support, beautify and promote the designated downtown area. Downtown property and business owners fund those activities through the BIA levy, and it is entirely reasonable for the BIA to use its resources to provide additional benefits to its members.

The Town has a different responsibility.

When municipal resources, public property or taxpayer-supported events are being used to provide a commercial benefit, we need to consider businesses throughout Midland.

Imagine two locally owned businesses. One is located downtown and the other is located elsewhere in Midland. Both employ local people. Both pay municipal property taxes, directly or through their rent. Both contribute to our local economy.

If one receives free commercial space at a Town event while the other has to pay for exactly the same opportunity, we should be able to clearly explain why.

For me, that comes down to a simple principle:

BIA resources should benefit BIA members. Town resources should be administered fairly for the entire community.

That doesn’t mean every municipal decision has to benefit every business equally. Our downtown deserves investment because a strong downtown benefits Midland as a whole. Festivals and events bring thousands of people into the downtown, creating opportunities for storefront businesses to benefit from increased pedestrian traffic, extended hours and additional customers.

But supporting our downtown and providing individual businesses with preferential access to municipal property are two different things.

There are fair ways to accomplish both goals.

If the BIA wants to provide free vendor booths to its members, it could subsidize those spaces using BIA resources. If the Town decides that free booths are an effective economic-development tool, we could establish criteria that make the opportunity available to qualifying Midland businesses regardless of where they are located.

Or we can simply establish consistent vendor fees for commercial businesses participating in Town events, with separate provisions for charities, community organizations and event sponsors.

What I don’t want to create is a system where your postal address determines whether you receive a municipal business benefit.

Downtown businesses matter. So do businesses in every other part of Midland.

Supporting one shouldn’t require us to diminish the contribution of the other.

As Mayor, I will continue advocating for a vibrant and successful downtown while remembering that when Council makes decisions involving municipal resources, we are responsible for the whole community.

That’s the balance I believe Midland deserves.