Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark chose the Town of Innisfil for his announcement of new funding for rural and small Ontario communities.
The provincial government plans to distribute $200 million in one-time funding to 405 of the province’s 444 municipalities.
“Taxpayers expect and deserve modern service delivery that puts people first,” Clark said. The investment is being provided to municipalities to help them “modernize service delivery, become more efficient… make sure every dollar is spent wisely.”
The Town of Innisfil, as one of those small municipalities, will receive “close to $677,000,” the minister said.
“You can’t expect the small municipalities to have the same levels of staff and resources,” Clark said. “They need the province to come forward and provide assistance.”
It’s part of a different approach on the part of the Ford government, Clark added, after hearing from municipalities that they need assistance to meet rising costs.
“We took action right away,” he said, finding funding that will assist municipalities to “avoid expenditure growth, and ultimately meet the needs of their residents.”
Clark was accompanied by MPPs Andrea Khanjin (Barrie-Innisfil), Jill Dunlop (Simcoe North) and Doug Downey (Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte) - colleagues whom, he said, “have worked very, very hard to impress on me the importance of this part of the province.”
He also had praise for Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin, “one of the most well-respected municipal leaders in Ontario,” and a past president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Dollin noted municipalities provide services that include roads and bridges, water wastewater, parks, libraries, police and fire. “Increasingly these costs are rising – infrastructure, for example,” she said.
“We know how hard residents work for their money. That’s why we’re looking for cost efficiencies – but there’s always room to improve, and this funding will help us,” Dollin said.
The minister said he understood the dilemmas facing municipal leaders. He was mayor of Brockville from 1982 to 1991.
“I was the youngest mayor in Canada, elected right after graduating,” he told members of Innisfil council. “It’s an interesting first job… It’s a fantastic job to be on local council, and serve the community.”
Khanjin said she had been speaking with constituents. "What I've noticed more and more every day is that they want to have confidence in their government," she said, especially that the government is "working for the people," efficiently, and with attention to the best expenditure of tax dollars.
Clark said other municipalities will be notified of their allotment of the special funding.
"I'm encouraged by the response I've received" from municipal leaders, he said.
