TABIA - Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas

Cover Your Assets - Managing Your Organization's Risk

Denise Edwards, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Ian McNeil, HKMB Insurance

Responsibilities, liabilities, insurance, and risk, are concerns that not for-profit organizations are managing. Staff and board directors need to be knowledgeable about their role to ensure their organizations are accountable, transparent and managing the risks involved.

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance
TABIA has secured favourable rates for Directors & Officers Liability Insurance. Member BIA Boards can receive coverage under TABIA's policy at a fraction of the going rate. Independently some BIAs have paid between $1,100 and $2,500 annually. Through this initiative, your board could be covered for between $400 and $1,000.

Download the Application - PDF
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Cover Your Assets: Introduction
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Risk Management
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Directors' & Officers' Liability Insurance
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Roles and Responsibilities
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Effective Organizations
PDF
Word Doc

Survival Tips for Directors
Word Doc

Sticky Situations
PDF
Word Doc

Community Policing - Crime Prevention Tool

Barbara Spyropoulos, Community Police Liaison Committee, 12 Division, Toronto Police Service; Peter Sloly, Toronto Police Service; Rajender Sud, Ontario Provincial Police

Community Policing committees work to establish community and police partnerships that are important in keeping our BIA communities safe and more prosperous. This session will introduce Community Police committees at both the municipal and provincial level and demonstrate how they are the eyes and ears of the community. Learn the best practices of specific initiatives, such as Community Mobilization, Building Safer Communities, and Community and Rural Watch Programs,
and how an increased citizen and police interaction creates mutual understanding and greater public safety and security. Before you consider spending on private security or street monitoring cameras, every BIA should know of the benefits of being involved in these active community policing programs.

Community Policing
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Marketing Business Development Opportunities in Your BIA

Tony Hernandez, Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity; Jon Linton, TCI Management Consultants; John Woodburn, Woodburn Associates; Hollee Kew, Stephen Morris

Identifying the expansion and investment opportunities in your BIA to potential investors and entrepreneurs is easier said than done-come to this how-to session to familiarize yourself with a step-by-step process for how to identify downtown business opportunities and prepare a plan to market them. You will come away from this session armed with information about how to prepare yourself for undertaking an expansion and recruitment strategy for your BIA. Also learn what kind of market information a potential investor or entrepreneur needs to have before they decide to locate in a given business district-consider how your BIA can work with the economic development department of your municipality to reach these franchisors, independent business owners or national chains.

Marketing Business Development Opportunities
PDF

The Franchise Perspective
PDF
Word Doc

Property Assessment and Valuation in the BIA: Ontario's Experience

Bill Bradley, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation

Hear how property assessments are derived using the three approaches to value for vacant land, retail strip, shopping centre and power centre property types. Market changes affecting the BIA properties from the first province-wide reassessment in 1998 in Ontario to present day will be discussed.

Property Assessment
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Implications of the New City of Toronto Act and Changes to
the Municipal Act for Business Improvement Areas

John Ballantine, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

The new City of Toronto Act and revisions to the Municipal Act became effective on January 1, 2007, providing greater local autonomy and accountability. This presentation will outline how both Acts address the relationship between municipalities and Business Improvement Areas and potential new economic development tools such as municipal services corporations.

Changes in the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Growing Appetite for Culinary Tourism and Local Food

Susan Benson,Ministry of Tourism; Rebecca LeHeup-Bucknell , Taste the County, Prince Edward County

Started by the municipal economic development department, Taste the County^TM is now an incorporated not-for-profit destination marketing and quality enhancement organization for Prince Edward County. It links together all the wonderful "tastes" of the County, and offers them as both a lure to visitors...and a reason to stay. Find out how individual community businesses are benefiting and the role a BIA can play.
Similarly the Province's culinary tourism strategy recommends a regional approach to develop new, high-quality culinary tourism products and experiences. The strategy seeks to link growers and producers with stand-alone restaurants and destination accommodations in established and emerging areas. It also advocates the development and marketing of regional festivals and events that profile culinary excellence. The growing demand for local food and culinary tourism provides a wonderful opportunity for economic development in Ontario communities. Learn about Ontario's Culinary Tourism Strategy and specific ways that your BIA can increase direct tourism sales by playing a role in the supply chain for restaurants, farms, retail, hotels, inns, bed & breakfasts, festivals, events and more. Come and explore how BIAs might benefit from the strategy.

Taste the County
PDF
PowerPoint Presentation

Is Your BIA Volunteer Program Safe Enough?

Deborah Gardner, Volunteer Toronto

In order to manage risk and to demonstrate due diligence, BIAs must have in place a system to effectively screen volunteers. This session introduced participants to:

• the concepts of volunteer screening and risk management

• a simple 10-step approach to screen volunteers

Screening Volunteers
PDF