Balancing Needs in Owen Sound

A Challenge Far More Complex and Difficult Than Most Think

I keep thinking about a comment that one resident made in the Vision 2050 Survey, “We deserve nice things too.” It was such a simple statement but it carried the weight of the frustration and pleadings of our residents and business owners.

We do deserve nice things – things like a vibrant downtown known for shops, restaurants, entertainment and galleries featuring our local artists; things like plentiful job/career opportunities for our youth; things like playgrounds for our children where locals can meet and socialize; things like affordable property taxes; things like a breakthrough, compassionate plan to address our homelessness situation.

There are so many nice things that Owen Sounders deserve….and need.

Why don’t we have these “nice things”?

The needs of Owen Sound are clear – they are repeated in every survey, seen on our streets and are also covered frequently in the Owen Sound Current. What Owen Sounders have been asking for is safety, reduced property taxes, increased access to health care and a prosperous city with successful businesses offering real jobs. What is missing are the resources directed towards solving these problems. The responsibility to provide for these needs, or not provide as the case appears to be, lies solely with our Mayor and City Councilors.

Many residents and businesses continue to advocate for washrooms/showers in the downtown area to cover our homeless population’s basic needs and provide them with dignity. The reasonable costs and potential locations for this project are straightforward, with a variety of companies offering prefab solutions. When it comes to balancing the needs of our city, this has often been repeated as a priority. One wonders why no progress has been made on this.

We continue to pour money into the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, open for only 16 hours a week and barely used by the residents of Owen Sound. We are proud of this gallery and rightly so. But what if we were to donate it to the region? The annual net cost to Owen Sound taxpayers in 2024 for the Tom Thomson Art Gallery was almost $500,000. Surely, if we look at balancing the priorities of Owen Sound residents, reallocating these funds should be on the table.

We pay the highest property taxes among comparable cities, with solid reporting that the average Owen Sound household spends 30% of their after-tax income on housing, almost 8% on property taxes. This is true whether you own or rent – landlords are most definitely passing on the high cost of property taxes to their tenants.

We all seek balance in our lives - we make time for our families and go to work, we support local sports and gather with our neighbours at Summerfolk and other festivals. And we balance our household budgets, placing a priority on what we need before we spend on our wants. Our city should operate their budget and priorities in the same way – needs first, wants second.