A LOCAL council has revealed it put nearly $200,000 back into its economy during the difficult COVID-19 quarantine and business shutdowns last year, via its stimulus voucher program.
The District Council of Loxton Waikerie (DCLW) developed its COVID-19 stimulus voucher program to encourage residents to shop local, endorsing the policy in July 2020.
Residents were able to exchange $25 for $100 worth of vouchers (five $20 vouchers) to be spent at local businesses associated with the Loxton or Riverland West chambers of commerce.
The program was expected to result in $200,000 of funding being reimbursed across the district, with the vouchers expiring on December 31, 2020.
Businesses had until January 31, 2021, to seek reimbursement from the council. Of the 10,000 vouchers available at Loxton or Waikerie council offices, 9635 vouchers were sold for a total of $48,175 – meaning less than 400 vouchers were left unclaimed across the district.
At its recent meeting, DCLW announced the breakdown of reimbursement by chamber area was $109,329 for Loxton and $72,426 for Waikerie. Overall, ratepayers paid local businesses back $181,755.
Council concluded the voucher program was “highly successful” for local businesses and the community, resulting in an economic stimulus of $181,755 and a net cost to council of $133,580.