Port Hawkesbury could be hit with more than $300,000 in losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Councillors approved an expansion to the town’s pandemic plan and a two-month deferral on utility and tax payments at April’s regular council meeting Tuesday.
The town’s CFO outlined current and potential losses from the COVID-19 pandemic and said a best-case scenario would see a net loss of $300,000 over six months.
Afterward, Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said they’re in a unique situation because, unlike their neighbours, about 10 per cent of the town’s revenue is service revenue.
“We’ve already had to make some pretty tough decisions with regard to some of our service delivery, particularly with regard to closing some of our facilities,” she said. “This is uncharted territory, we are rolling with the changes, day by day, hour by hour.”
Chisholm-Beaton said their main goal now is to get through the pandemic without losing any town services in the long term.
