Business View Civil and Municipal | May 2021

141 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL MAY 2021 INGERSOLL , ONTAR IO in reserve so that when opportunities arose through availability of infrastructure dollars, we could jump on them, and boy we have.” The community has plans to purchase a $1.5 million aerial firetruck this year, also with reserves, as well as continuing with road improvements. Ingersoll’s small businesses are well supported through resources like the Small Business Centre, in the neighboring city of Woodstock. This agency assists business owners with planning and mentorship. In Ingersoll, itself, Community Futures – a Government of Canada organization – offers financial assistance in the form of financing and loans. To assist businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the County of Oxford worked with Community Futures, offering loans and grants, helping to keep businesses alive and thriving. The town also worked with the Business Improvement Association to create a BIA Bucks program. Residents were able to purchase BIA dollars and receive a rebate of 20 percent on purchases, which was subsidized the City of London with 400,000 people, we are eight minutes from Woodstock with 40,000 people, and 45 minutes from Kitchener Waterloo, Cambridge, means there is great opportunity for many potential employees to have a short commute, but the Town of Ingersoll will certainly need more residential, and we’re going to have it. “ Replacing parts of an aging cast iron water system and upgrading roads are a few of the major infrastructure improvements the town has undertaken. Having money in reserves for upcoming projects, and taking advantage of federal and provincial infrastructure dollars, has allowed the community to make necessary improvements, and have ongoing maintenance. Mayor Comiskey refers to the quality infrastructure in the municipality as a point of pride, noting, “Our infrastructure is next to none as far as the county is concerned, and certainly beyond. Years ago, when deciding what to do with tax dollars, we decided to put them