essex county may consider reversing cuts to invest windsoressex budget
tecumseh deputy mayor joe bachetti plans to introduce a...
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justice george w. king looks on wednesday night as tecumseh deputy mayor joe bachetti signs a declaration after county council elected him deputy warden of essex county.
trevor wilhelm
/
windsor star
tecumseh deputy mayor joe bachetti plans to introduce a motion at wednesday’s essex county council meeting to revisit the november decision that cut invest windsoressex’s budget by 15 per cent.
the motion asks county council to rescind the motion to cut the budget and to instead approve the original iwe request for a budget of $1,122,060 from the county.
the motions will be debated at county council’s feb. 19 meeting and need only a simple majority vote to pass.
“back in the november debate on reducing invest windsoressex’s budget by 15 per cent, i voted in terms of doing that based on some information received and speculation presented that end up being misinformation and false,” said bachetti, who voted with the majority in an 8-6 decision to cut iwe’s budget by $168,000.
“over the holiday’s iwe officials met with municipalities one on one and we went over everything. given that we learned of the misinformation and false speculation windsor was going to build their own economic development department, it gave me time to reflect and that has led me to introduce this motion.”
bachetti added he also learned the london economic development corp. was receiving nearly four times iwe’s annual $2.48 million annual budget. he added the decision to cut the area’s economic development organization’s budget failed to meet county council’s mission statement of regional collaboration, development and the shared benefits of growth.
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“this is what’s driving my championing of this motion,” bachetti said. “we’re competing with london and globally.
“we have to remember when we’re sitting as county council, we represent what’s best for all the county, not just tecumseh, lakeshore or kingsville.
“i’m confident we can restore the funding.”
should the motion to restore full funding to iwe pass, bachetti hopes windsor will also rescind any potential cuts to the city’s contribution.
the two organizations have an informal agreement to have matching per capita funding for the iwe. under that formula the city would contribute about $1.37 million in 2025 to bring iwe’s total budget to about $2.48 million.
iwe is facing a reduction of about $400,000 if the budget cuts are implemented.
bachetti credits january meetings between iwe officials and the county’s municipalities with helping better illustrate the value of the economic development organization, what it has achieved and the regional benefits and spinoffs generated no matter where the investments land.
“the meetings were very detailed and helpful,” bachetti said. “just because a plant isn’t in tecumseh, doesn’t mean tecumseh residents won’t be working there.
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“iwe is searching for a ceo and putting together a new strategic plan, that will help with the communication going forward. the education part of it goes a long way.”
bachetti said iwe has a global outreach that no municipality can match. given the turbulent times created by president donald trump’s tariff threats, he said the organization has become even more valuable.
“you have to have those relationships as you show how the region works,” bachetti said.
“what message are we sending to developers and companies that are interested in investing here if we cut the budget?
“i think out of some negativity initially, a positive, stronger and more united front will come out of this based on what i think will happen on feb. 19.”
dwaddell@postmedia.com
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