Local businesses across Grey County are seeing an average revenue reduction of 42.5 per cent since the onset of COVID-19, says the county’s economic development department.
“A 42.5 per cent revenue reduction is what was estimated in our business community,” said Savanna Myers, director of economic development, tourism and culture for Grey County at a recently held committee of the whole meeting. “When we look at tourism, which we know is being especially hard hit in this, there is a $1.4 billion industry in our region, across Bruce-Grey-Simcoe. So, those revenue reductions will be felt right across the board.”
The county’s economic development department has conducted two surveys of its business community since mid-March to help gauge the impacts of COVID-19.
“No business, through these surveys, have said that they have permanently closed. But, we are hearing that that is happening in the community,” said Myers.
According to the report, Grey County has approximately 10,500 local businesses, 70 per cent of which are sole proprietor or home-based.
An initial survey of the county’s businesses was conducted on March 17 to April 9, and the second survey ran from April 16 to May 1.
The second survey resulted in 218 responses with 43 per cent of those businesses reporting they have temporarily shut down their operations.
Forty per cent of businesses said the impact of COVID-19 has been significant and is growing, and 60 per cent of survey respondents have accessed government support.
"Of those who have accessed support, 55 per cent went for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, which is the individual program, and that is important to realize because, for these sole proprietors and home-based businesses, that was really the only program open to them at the time,” Myers said, adding since that time, the federal and provincial governments have announced more appropriate programs for sole proprietors.
She also points out in May the unemployment rate in the region grew to 8.1 per cent.
“This is a far cry from the conversations we were having not even a year ago, where we were under a two per cent unemployment rate,” said Myers. “It is a very different environment right now.”
Grey County council received the report and directed staff to work with the finance department to determine options for redirecting portions of the approved 2020 economic development and tourism budgets to recovery efforts, for consideration by council at an upcoming June council meeting.
“Finance is planning on bringing a report to council that will look at where we are today and what we are projecting to the year-end,” said Kevin Weppler, director of corporate services for Grey County, adding that his department has been working with transportation services to try and free up taxation money to redirect to COVID-19 relief.
“We have tried to free up taxation money in the transportation budget by using federal gas tax reserves to try and compensate for the overall issues that the county is going to have, while still being able to provide Myers some room here to be able to address this,” Weppler said.
A more detailed financial report on the impacts of COVID-19 is expected to come before the county council on June 25.
Moving forward, the economic development department will be focusing on collating reopening guidelines; facilitating access to PPE for businesses; building staff and consumer confidence; coordinating municipal inspection protocols to support development; developing destination protocols to enhance the safety of place; and identifying new local training needs and delivery mechanisms.
