Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton; CIGO file photo
The mayor of Port Hawkesbury says $647,656 in provincial-federal funding will help them cover the gap from COVID-19.
After December’s regular council meeting Tuesday night, Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said the money from the Safe Restart Agreement came as a welcome surprise early last month.
However, Chisholm-Beaton said it’s not enough in the long term.
“It will bring some relief,” she said. “But in the same breath, there’s definitely no end in sight and it’s continuing to have a finical impact on our town.”
Chisholm-Beaton said the pandemic is a particular problem for the town.
She said that’s because they rely on service revenue more than most municipalities.
“It’s not really going to account for what our municipal finances, or experiences, or realities will be as the pandemic continues.”
She said the town hasn’t been able to provide, or draw revenue from, many of its services since the pandemic began, and that is unlikely to change in the near future.
