4 April 2017City finance committee approves plan to revitalize ByWard and Parkdale markets_ (Via City of Ottawa) _ ** Ottawa ** ** – ** Finance and Economic Development Committee today approved a plan to revitalize the ByWard and Parkdale markets by approving the establishment of a Municipal Services Corporation to provide dedicated management and leadership. The ByWard Market, established in 1826, and the Parkdale Market, established in 1924, are important public markets in Ottawa that have, in recent years, seen a decline in vitality, specifically in number of vendors, volume of sales and variety of local products. Staff recommend moving forward with a Municipal Services Corporation, which will provide dedicated strategic management in support of a focused, innovative and entrepreneurial approach to markets management, free of the heavy regulatory regime currently in place. The expected result is more vendors, greater diversity of local products and services, more customers and sales. Finance and Economic Development Committee also approved a Revenue Service recommendation for a set of tax ratios and policies for 2017. This will ensure the tax share paid by each property class remains similar to previous years. Tax ratios determine the tax burden by property class, such as residential, commercial, industrial or farm. The City’s Revenue Service is recommending adoption of ratios for 2017 that generally maintain the existing property tax impact on each property class and prevent shifting of tax burden, especially from commercial and industrial property classes to residential taxpayers. Among other items, the Committee also received the year-end report on Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, an update on the City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan and the 2016 Information Management and City of Ottawa Archives Annual Report . These reports will be considered by City Council on Wednesday, April 12.