Municipal officials in Chatham-Kent are keeping an eye on the economic hardships that the novel coronavirus will have on the community.
A report is set to come to municipal council on April 6, detailing what can be done to help people and businesses that have been affected. It will also include recommendations for council's consideration.
According to Chief Financial Officer Gord Quinton, officials with Chatham-Kent have consulted over a dozen other municipalities and municipal tax associations on the topic of coronavirus and the impact on the economy.
"There has been a slowdown in the economy that we've all seen with more and more businesses closing everyday... these closures affect small businesses and taxpayers who temporarily lost their job, it affects them the most," said Quinton. "The financial services team and I have been studying the issue and the potential of some form of targetted assistance to those who need it the most. "
For homeowners, Quinton said he and his team are still in the analysis stage but will also be including recommendations for individuals impacted by COVID-19. Quinton added that any recommendations made by council will be put in place before the tax installment due date of May 1.
In addition to the financial department, the municipality's economic development department has been working closely with small business owners to hear about their immediate needs.
"We are currently very focused on reaching out to businesses to support them. Director of Economic Development Stuart McFadden and his entire team are very focused on changing direction over the last couple of weeks now on businesses that are being impacted," explained John Norton, general manager of community development. "It's a very different world out there for businesses, we know that right now."
The economic development team has also created a webpage dedicated to providing businesses with COVID-19 related updates. Norton said the team is committed to helping local companies cope with the future impacts.
"In the more medium term, we'll be moving to redeploy resources to focus on supporting businesses...we need to look at the long term plan which would involve economic recovery," said Norton.