Cornwall Ontario Construction Permit Dollars Drop Nearly 70% From 2012 to 2013 Under Mayor Kilger

Kilger Bench BLUECFN –  Contrary to glowing spouts of steam from Economic De-Veloper Mark Boileau and his pet monkey adjutant Bob Peters construction dollars nose dived in Cornwall Ontario for the first half of 2013 compared to 2012.

The City issued a glowing press release, but it apparently was more spin that numbers.

The construction values can be found on the first page of the link:

City of Cornwall issues nearly 300 building permits during first half of 2013

Construction activity in the City of Cornwall continued at a healthy pace through the first half of the year, with nearly 300 building permits being issued during first six months of 2013.

According to the latest figures from the City’s Building and By-law Division, a total of 68 building permits were issued in the month of June, bringing the total number of permits for the first half of the year to 297.

By comparison, 303 building permits were issued by the City during the first six months of 2012. The comparison is worth noting, since the number of building permits processed in 2012 was the highest since 1989.

All told, the 2013 permits carry a total estimated construction value of $16,864,228.65.

Of the permits issued through the first six months of the year, 25 of them are for new residential units.
 
“We continue to experience a steady volume of building permit activity and we expect that trend to continue throughout the summer months,” said Chief Building Official Chris Rogers.

Value of building construction 2013: $16,864,228.65 
Value of building construction 2012: $54,939,872.33 

That’s a drop of nearly 70%!

2013 Cornwall June Building fees

While the amount of permits only dropped by six it’s what they were issued for that is the real difference.

Family units dropped to 25 from 92

Plumbing permits dropped to 141 from 221

Complaints hovered near the actually dropped, but with the dive in work are a bit alarming with 959 complaints received in 2013 vs 1035 in 2013.

The biggest drop in residential units were from double, duplex, and multiple unit permits with revenues dropping to $1, 467, 451 from $6,409,849.00

Mix in litigation and scandal estimated to running close to $3,000,000 and is it any wonder that taxes went up 2.88% this year?

With the impact of less work and small businesses struggling surely it’s time to review what’s going on at City Hall and maybe who’s doing it?

After all the budget for our Economic Development Department is larger than many.  Surely it should be expected to achieve positive results?

What do you think Cornwall?  You can post your comments below.

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12 Comments

  1. It ebbs and flows… I don’t think its the mayors fault. The economy of Eastern, Ontario is in a temporary funk.

  2. Econ thanomic undevelopment didn’t have any large projects dropped in their lap. The economic development department in Cornwall has been ineffective since the industrial park idea some 35 years ago. We can thank someone for that who is likely now dead in life of spirit. Bless you Ed.

  3. Way to mislead again Admin. The entire difference between ’12 and ’13 is due to the large amount of industrial construction last year. I would assume that includes the hospital and logistics warehousing. It’s funny, I don’t remember your article praising council and the mayor last year for the huge increase in activity.

    Commercial permits are up 400% this year. Stands to reason that business is thriving in our beautiful city. Were you hoping that the report was too small for anyone to really read? What a joke!

  4. No matter what, Mayor will blame CFN, while CFN may point the finger back.

    Both to remember as one finger points forward, 4 point backward.

  5. Author

    Gimme I report what facts are presented. What was in this story was based on numbers provided by the city as published.

  6. The radio station website claims that building permits continue to soar in Cornwall in their story. They conveniently leave out the important dollar figure showing the 70% decline
    The shopping news rag follows the same sanitized city and chamber approved script. Again, no mention of a 70% decline of dollars.
    Meanwhile, the print daily puts the same glowing spin on the headline, but they do report the the value difference of the two years at the end of their story. Sort of honest compared to the other two.
    I know it can be very frustrating for you Jamie, and you do seem to be a lightning rod when it comes to criticism and controversy, but this is exactly why we need someone like you in Cornwall. The other three spin every story with their advertising department so as not to jeopardize the cash flow from the ruling class elite.
    Thank you for being here.

  7. I really do not understand why Kilger is being criticized for these figures. The figures exploded while he was Mayor in 2012 and because of that unprecedented growth we are now seeing a leveling off I would think. And the stroke through name calling……..ahhhhhhh……resorting to this accomplishes nothing, sadly I think it reflects badly on the person using such tactics.

  8. I don’t believe the numbers are the problem here but the attempt to mislead and misinform the public. The Mayor bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of the economic development department and the type of message they issue to the public. This era of spin and misinformation is the Mayors legacy to the city. Hopefully the next council will be more open and honest.

  9. I agree 100% with Reg. Oh wait, I thought he was referring to YOUR misleading comments. Why didn’t you post my last comment? Are you afraid of meaningful discussion? Are you afraid your “clique” might catch on to your bullshit? This is why you’re a joke.

  10. I don’t believe blame is being put on the Mayor and Council for the stats. I believe the blame is centered on the way the Mayor and Council agreed to present the stats to the public with such a colourful flourish. They would have been respected so much more if they presented the 70% difference themselves and gave the reasons why. Apparently they still believe that we are all stupid and that they don’t need our respect because they rule. So sad.

  11. Author

    Pizoli I think you hit the nail on the head. As a taxpayer myself I hate being spun too. My days of being told Fairy Tales are long over 🙂 In sports if management and the players don’t get the job done there are changes. It looks like it definitely is time for changes with Players like Mr. Boileau & Peters being dropped to the minors or traded and management in our elected officials being fired.

  12. What part of their report has been spun? They were six permits shy of last years total, which happened to be the highest since ’89. Sounds like we’re doing just fine.

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