Barrie wants in on the second phase of COVID-19 financial support funding from senior government levels.
City council passed a direct motion Monday night asking for additional funding to address the financial implications of the pandemic through the federal/provincial Safe Restart Agreement.
“The province is making more funding available to municipalities. It’s got a very early deadline, before our next council meeting,” Deputy Mayor Barry Ward said. “That’s why this is coming forward in a direct motion tonight.”
The funding application deadline is Nov. 6 and city council is next scheduled to meet for regular business Nov. 9.
From the Safe Restart Agreement, Ontario’s government has secured up to $4 billion in emergency assistance to provide the province’s 444 municipalities with COVID-19 financial support.
The program has two streams, municipal operating and transit.
In Phase 1 of the municipal operating stream, Barrie received $6.6 million — along with $2.6 million from the transit stream, for a total of $9.2 million. The province expects the city to place any excess funding, not needed in 2020, into reserves to be accessed to support COVID-19 operating costs and pressures that may occur next year.
The city will be required to report back to the province in spring 2021 with details of this year’s COVID-19 operating costs and pressures, the city’s overall 2020 financial position and the use of the provincial funds.
In the municipal operating stream, as much as $1.39 billion is available to Ontario municipalities to provide support needed to respond to 2020 COVID-19 impacts and address operating pressures. The municipal operating stream is to be allocated in two phases, with half of the funding allocated in Phase 1 for all municipalities and as much as 50 per cent allocated in Phase 2 for municipalities that require additional funding this year.
At this time, no funding programs for 2021 have been announced.
To be considered for Phase 2 funding, municipalities are required to submit an application that provides an overall picture of the municipality’s 2020 COVID-19 related financial operating pressures and an understanding of the municipality’s overall financial position. This information could include dollar amounts of measures the municipality has undertaken to mitigate financial pressures — such as staffing reductions, deferral of capital projects, cuts to discretionary spending, service adjustments, use of reserves and other cost saving measures.
It would also include reserve balances at the beginning of the year and forecasted year-end. In June, the city identified a $2.2-million deficit by 2020’s end, although that was before the Past 1 Safe Restart funding.
When the pandemic was declared in mid-March, the city took action to mitigate COVID-19 related costs and pressures by finding efficiencies, closing facilities, reducing staffing, implementing a hiring freeze and adjusting service levels.
There were substantial losses of revenues such as recreation fees, rental revenue, permits, interest and penalty charges, and parking fees, and some are ongoing.
