Mayor John Taylor says he is optimistic about what 2021 will hold for Newmarket, even though he is under no illusions about the challenging year that lies ahead for the municipality.
But with the long-awaited vaccine being distributed at Southlake Regional Health Centre since last week, he said, it means some kind of normalcy will return as 2021 goes on. When it does, Taylor hopes the community will remember some of the positive things it learned about itself during the pandemic's tribulations.
"We often say that people are our greatest resource, but 2020 has proved it to me over and over that our greatest resource really does lay in the people of this town," said the mayor.
"We have seen an incredibly strong and generous response to this crisis. Even people who were suffering and struggling asked how they could help others. Organizations such as the food pantry and Inn From the Cold really stepped up, and frontline workers sticking with it and putting themselves at risk. Our municipal workers also singularly impressed me with their hard work and dedication to the town."
"2021 is going to be a tough year, but it will be a year of us moving forward. At the centre of that will be the people of our community, organizations, and frontline workers."
Although the mayor is hopeful that the worst of the pandemic will soon be behind us, he noted that the next few months will be difficult, and the town will need to do what it can to try to keep the community following public health guidelines.
Even when things do settle down, the town will be faced with the daunting task of picking up the pieces.
The town has already created some preliminary estimates showing that the pandemic could cost the Newmarket $1.9 million in next year's municipal budget. Council has made strides in shoring up Newmarket's financial position, and the province is providing money to help cover those expenses, noted Taylor. But it will still make for a year of difficult decisions for the Town of Newmarket.
"It's going to be a tough financial year, no two ways about it. Some towns chose to submit zero per cent (tax increase) budgets for 2021, which is valid, but we took the approach of putting money away in a COVID-19 reserve to help us manage the challenges that are coming," he said.
"Will it be enough? Probably not. Will we be looking throughout 2021 for ways to contain costs and find further savings, and perhaps adjusting some service levels here or there? Absolutely, if that's how it has to be. It will be a challenging year."
Taylor said he wants to see the town continue to be proactive to help the community recover even during a tough fiscal year. He points to his proposal, currently under consideration at council, to create a water rate rebate program for small businesses in Newmarket as an example of the things the municipality can do to help.
The mayor also argued that if Newmarket's economy is to recover following the pandemic, the town needs to make sure it is a place where people will want to live and work. That means moving forward on new building projects and on public amenities.
"I will be encouraging our municipal organization and council to continue building up our incredible town. We will keep moving forward on key projects like the outdoor skate park, the Mulock Arboretum, and key infrastructure projects."
