GUELPH – Mayors and Chairs from across Ontario are calling for the federal and provincial governments to provide billions in emergency financial relief to assist municipalities with a cash crunch caused by COVID-19.
Representatives of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario, and the Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario met to discuss the COVID-19 financial emergency on July 6
“Ontario municipalities are speaking with one voice to deliver one important message: Our residents cannot wait any longer,” states a press release issued by the coalition of municipal leaders.
“To protect municipal services, we need immediate provincial and federal support to cover lost revenue and additional costs caused by the COVID-19 crisis.”
The call for action by Ontario municipalities is part of a national effort, led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to secure at least $10 billion dollars in emergency relief for Canadian municipalities to be funded 100 per cent by the federal and provincial governments.
Municipalities across Ontario have been on the frontlines of keeping people safe during COVID-19, the release states.
“This has meant hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs and lost revenues,” the release continues.
The FCM proposal would provide approximately $4 billion to Ontario municipalities to offset lost transit revenues and added service costs, but municipalities say that so far, there has been no clear signal on the timing and level of a joint federal-provincial financial assistance program.
Now, halfway through the budget year, municipalities say they have no choice but to consider plans to balance the budget by raising property taxes, user fees and charges or cutting services.
Conversations about cost-saving service reductions are taking place across the province, including:
– supports to children, families and seniors;
– reducing or cancelling transit services;
– staffing adjustments including layoffs and delaying or cancelling hiring;
– reducing essential services including public health, fire, paramedic and police services;
– closing parks and cultural sites and cancelling recreation programs,
– slower land use planning reviews and development approvals; and
– cancelling or deferring critical infrastructure and affordable housing projects, costing construction jobs.
“By acting now to confirm relief for municipalities, senior governments can avoid these unforeseen property tax increases and destructive cuts to frontline municipal services” the mayors and chairs group states in the release.
At the June 25 Wellington County council meeting, a budget variance report from treasurer Ken DeHart projected disruptions related to COVID-19 might not have a serious impact on county finances.
Councillor Chris White, who chairs the county’s administration, finance and human resources committee said the county and lower tier municipalities seemed to be weathering the financial storm from the pandemic fairly well.
“We’re all working our way through … of course we don’t have transit systems and other difficulties that large urban centres have,” noted White. “The county itself is in pretty good shape. We will probably come out of this with a small surplus, maybe just breaking even.”
A surplus of up to $680,000 is projected in the county’s operating budget at this point, the treasurer’s report stated.
