City receives $5.6 million in one-time funding from Province, Feds

Recently the Federal and Provincial governments have made funding announcements that have positively impacted Kawartha Lakes — and now a staff report going to Committee of the Whole on April 9 outlines in detail the funding changes.

Kawartha Lakes will receive over $5.6 million in one-time additional funding for 2019, including the following:

Federal Gas Tax Funding
One-time top-up of approximately $4.66 million, to be used for infrastructure projects including: local roads and bridges; regional and local airports; broadband connectivity; public transit; drinking water; waste; recreation; culture and tourism.

Provincial Funding for efficiency purposes
A contribution of $725,000 to help modernize service delivery and reduce costs through investment in projects such as: service delivery reviews, development of shared services agreements and capital investments.

Provincial Cannabis Funding
Lump sum of $225,000 to assist with the implementation and impact of legalized cannabis in the community (policing, by-law enforcement and other public services).

Since there is no deadline to use the additional funds above, staff are recommending that Council place the funds into a Contingency Reserve to be available as needed in the future.

Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund
The City receives Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) funding on an annual basis. This fund is intended to support northern and rural municipalities who struggle with limited property assessment and other fiscal challenges.

In 2019, the City will receive $200,000 more than it had anticipated. However, the province is currently reviewing this program, and it is uncertain if funding will continue beyond 2019, or to what extent.

In addition to the above funding, the Federal and Provincial governments have also recently made an announcement regarding application-based funding that will be made available in 2019, including:

• Public Transit, $20.8 billion
• Rural and Northern, $500 million
• Green, $7 billion
• Community, Culture and Recreation, $1 billion

The Public Transit infrastructure funding is focused on public transit systems outside of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). More information on this initiative will be made available in early April by the ministries involved.

The Rural and Northern fund is available for municipalities with a population of less than 100,000. The funding model will require a municipal share of 17%, with the balance being funding from the other two levels of government. The focus of this fund will be to assist with roads and bridges as well as air and marine infrastructure. Applications are being accepted until May 14, 2019.

Announcements on the Green infrastructure fund, and the Community, Culture and Recreation fund are anticipated later this year.

“The City is currently undertaking a review of its long range financial plan including capital and operating requirements. Consideration will be given to the announced funds and how best to maximize the investment so that we can efficiently deliver services while stabilizing tax support. The updated plan is anticipated to be presented to Council in June,” commented Jennifer Stover, Director of Corporate Services.