Message from the Mayor - April 3

To the Stratford Community,

We continue to feel the effects in our community of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed all of our lives dramatically in the last few weeks.

There are a number of organizations in Stratford and the surrounding area that are working together in an effort to lessen the impact of COVID-19 locally, and provide some support – both social and economic – for those who have been most affected by it.

SOCIAL SUPPORTS

Stratford’s Social Services Department continues to work with the United Way Perth-Huron on the Help Do Local Good initiative (www.helpdolocalgood.ca), connecting people who need help with those who can provide it. The associated Huron-Perth Covid 19 Resource Group – Help is Close to Home, on Facebook, now has nearly 3,500 members.

A Homelessness Emergency Operations Group (HEOG), co-chaired by the City’s Manager of Ontario Works and Manager of Housing, is also meeting regularly to respond to the needs of people who are homeless, or a risk of homelessness. That group includes local shelter operators, transitional housing providers, police services, mental health services and public health representatives.

And a Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee has been struck to carry out local, long-term planning related to COVID-19, with representatives from health, police and protective services, social services, children and youth services and municipal government. It will help identify the long-term social impacts of the pandemic, and direct the planning required to support the community in its recovery.

ECONOMIC SUPPORTS

We know that local businesses and industries and their employees have also been hit hard by COVID-19, and that’s why we’ve formed an Economic Support and Recovery Task Force.

Co-ordinated by investStratford, it brings together partners like the Stratford & District Chamber of Commerce, Stratford Tourism Alliance, the Stratford City Centre Business Improvement Area, local employers and businesses, Employment Ontario and others.

The goal is to share information and resources with the business community at large, as well as with entrepreneurs and small businesses, and the recently unemployed workforce, and to develop longer-term economic strategies to support them.

LOCAL RELIEF

City Council held a virtual meeting Wednesday (April 1), and one of motions we approved dealt with some immediate relief and flexibility for residents and businesses affected by COVID-19.

Those measures include:

• Waiving penalty and interest related to the April 9th property tax installment due-date and stop all progressive collection activities until August 30, 2020,
• Waiving penalties, interest, late payment charges and other fees related to water and sewer billing and suspend all progressive collection activities until August 30, 2020,
• Suspending any water meter disconnections until August 30, 2020,
• Suspending the transfer of overdue water accounts to the property tax account to assist landlords,
• Providing free parking until May 31, 2020 or the commencement of the Festival Theatre season,
• Waiving interest on any general invoices from the City until May 31, 2020,
• Suspending the non-sufficient fund administration fee for returned payments until May 31, 2020,
• Providing credits or refunds for cancelled city-run community programs and services,
• Providing free transit until August 30, 2020.

Council has taken these measures in an effort to ease the cash flow burden on residents and property owners, and will continue to consider other measures that would support our community through the pandemic.

DONATIONS THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

There are many acts of kindness and support being offered in our community during these difficult times, and I’d like to highlight a recent one.

This week, we received an incredibly generous donation from two individuals – one of them a resident of Stratford and the other a businessperson from China – of some much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE).

These two people have provided, at no charge, several thousand surgical masks, KN-95 respirator masks and safety glasses. That critical equipment will be shared by Stratford Police Services, the Stratford Fire Department and other front-line workers in Stratford and Perth County to help protect themselves and the people they serve in our communities from COVID-19.

All of these initiatives, while important, only matter if we continue to follow the advice of the medical professionals locally and across the country.

Please be sure and take care of your physical and mental health and support your family members, friends and neighbours when needed. Together we can plank the curve and save lives, but only if we act now.

Be safe and stay healthy!

- Mayor Dan Mathieson