By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg's Downtown Business Improvement Area received compliments on its work at Monday's committee-of-the-whole council meeting that approved its 2020 budget.
DBIA board members Joan Greaves and Lou Trozollo made the presentation, sharing some of the group's plans for the coming year.
“We are going to do more events and have better entertainment to draw more people, rather than just having a plethora of events – and more entertainment means more money,” Trozollo said.
He expressed his hope that they can cover these increased costs with sponsorships and revenue generated at the events, speaking of which the revenue anticipated in their budget is $223,550.
Among their expenses is a staffer's salary of $65,000, up from $58,000 in 2018. Among the cuts they plan is a drop in their radio and other media advertising, even as they beef up their entertainment budget.
Councillor Adam Bureau congratulated the DBIA board on the work they did in 2019.
“All of them are just volunteers, business owners that are very busy and they still find time to do this and put on great events, so I just wanted to say thank you.”
“As the other board member on the DBIA, I wanted to say they are a really good group,” agreed Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin.
“It's hard work but, as Councillor Bureau said, it's a group that is really dedicated to the downtown.”
