•  In 2017, the Province provided municipalities with broad flexibility to tailor the treatment of vacant land and vacant unit programs in response to local circumstances.
•  At that time, Council provided direction to alter the program, on a pilot basis, as it applied only within commercial street level properties located within the DWBIA.
•  Specifically, the eligible rebate was eliminated on a declining basis over a 3 year period.
•  Upon submitting an application in year 1, a property owner could receive the full 30% rebate, in the 2nd year of application, a property owner would receive 15%, and in the 3rd year of application, a property owner would not receive any rebate.
•  As part of the 2019 Budget deliberations, Administration provided Council with an update on the status of the vacancy rebate program including an update as to what other municipalities were implementing.
•  The report highlighted that many municipalities were in the process of a full elimination of the program or the phasing out of the program.
•  The direction received from Council was to abolish the vacancy rebate program within all Business Improvement Areas.
•  The elimination of the vacancy rebate program is one way in which the City of Windsor is supporting these core objectives.
•  
• Moved by D. Croucher, seconded by M. Cuderman,
•  
• That the update provided by the Deputy Treasurer – Taxation & Financial Projects regarding the elimination of the Vacancy Rebate Program from all City BIA'S BE RECEIVED. Carried.
•  
• 4.7 2019 Year End Close & Development of 2020 BIA Budgets
•  
• Janice Guthrie, Deputy Treasurer – Taxation & Financial Projects provides the following information relating to the 2019 year end close and the development of 2020 BIA Budgets:
•  
•  The Board of Management is responsible to prepare an annual budget reflecting the priorities and needs of the BIA as determined by the Board and its membership.
•  The Board is also responsible to prepare and present to Council an annual report
•  which includes audited financial statements.
•  City Council approved the following as part of the 2019 BIA budget deliberations:
•  CR290/2019 –
• o "That Administration BE DIRECTED to draft guidelines for the business improvement associations that would outline in a clear way the report that Council expects to receive at year-end with respect to annual expenditures, and that these guidelines be drafted in consultation with all the BIA's across the City of Windsor as well as the WBIAAC advisory committee; and,
• o That Administration undertake a review of other BIA's and best practices across Ontario; and further,