The president of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce feels good about business in this area, in 2019.
President Jon Tuer made the comment to Quinte News following the 2019 annual general meeting at the Belleville Club on Monday.
Tuer did say there are challenges within the labour market with respect to getting skilled workers to the area.
He said housing is also a problem for businesses wanting to attract workers.
Belleville Chamber of Commerce President Jon Tuer presents Milestone Service Award to Rosi Ouellette, June 3, 2019 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Tuer paid tribute to the businesses that support the events the chamber runs for the city, such as the Waterfront Festival.
“Just in general with businesses, they tend to get pulled a lot of different ways. There are a lot of organizations out there asking for their support so, just for us to get a piece of that just really means a lot to us. It shows people believe in the work we’re doing and they support the events that we’re running.”
Regarding membership he said, “There are some you just can’t help losing because they go out of business. It’s beyond our control but where we control the membership, being a member, we like to think we’re doing a lot of good work on their behalf.”
There were 48 new businesses in the Chamber of Commerce from in 2017-2018.
The chamber’s contract with the city, to run a number of events each year, gives it a source of income which funds some of the cost of staffing.
Events brought in about $200,000 in 2018, while the contract with the city increased to more than $217,000, an increase of about $35,000.
At the meeting, the Chamber of Commerce presented the Milestone Service Award to employee Rosi Ouellette for her five years of service.
