Municipalities receive provincial funding for COVID-19 costs

Sep 09, 2020

Local Municipalities will be receiving funding support from the “Safe Restart” program that is being funded by the provincial and federal governments. The fund was created to help municipalities cover financial burdens resulting from the pandemic.

Municipalities, such as the City of Kingston, are projecting large budget shortfalls due to losses in parking meter, parking ticket and transit revenue, and user fees in sports facilities. On July 1st, even with some spending cuts, project deferrals and the expectation of special provincial grants, Kingston City officials projected a $2 million shortfall by the end of the summer.

In Frontenac County, most of the municipalities have not seen the same kinds of shortfalls. User fees, where they apply, are minimal, and there are no public transit systems.

North Frontenac Township projected a shortfall of $75,000 at one point this spring, mostly because of revenue losses when Frontenac Parklands did not open in May. But once the Parklands opened, the revenue stream has been stronger than normal as Ontarians have been seeking wilderness adventures this summer, in greater numbers than usual.

Townships have seen losses because interest fees for late payment of property taxes were waived, but that may not add up to as much as initially anticipated. Fewer taxpayers took advantage of the program than was anticipated, at least in South Frontenac, the largest municipality in the region.

“The cost of that deferral has been minimal, most people figured they might as well pay their taxes anyway since they will eventually have to pay,” South Frontenac Mayor Vandewal said at a council meeting in May.’

Matching funding was provided to lower and upper tier municipalities under the program.

Central Frontenac will receive $251,000, North Frontenac $215,000, South Frontenac $637,400, Frontenac Islands $83,300, and Frontenac County $1,187,600.

Tay Valley will receive $334,000, and Addington Highlands $159,400.

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins said that it was his understanding that the money needs to be spent on COVID-19 related expenditures, such as retrofits of township buildings and PPE for staff, to cover for revenue shortfalls.

“We do have shortfalls in North Frontenac,” he said. “but I don’t know what they add up to. We have also been tracking the cost of PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] and other material costs, in anticipation of this funding.

When asked about county plans to spend the close to $1.2 million it has been allocated, Communications Officer Matt Mills said via email, that “County Council and administrators are working on how best to deploy emergency funds, as most urgently needed and according to instructions from the province.”

Frontenac County operates Fairmount Home, a long-term care facility, and Frontenac Paramedic Services, which provides land ambulance for the county and the city of Kingston. Both of those services have and continue to incur significant costs related to COVID-19, but there have been other funding top-ups for long term care and paramedic services to cover some of those costs.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, September 8th, Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender said that so far, there have been few if any details about the funding, except that it must be expended by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2021.

“Essentially you know as much detail about this as we do,” he said, referring to the fact that the provincial media release about the funding was thin on details.

“There surely will be some reporting mechanism, however,” he added, “the money will have to go to costs that are related to our response to COVID-19. “We have been flagging all of the extra costs for PPE and other items both in the paramedic service and at Fairmount Home, and the costs are high, a lot more than they have both received in top up funding from the province.”

Pender added that Frontenac County Treasurer Alex Lemieux will be bringing a report on how county staff plans to allocate the $1.187 million at the monthly county council meeting on September 16.

South Frontenac Council met last week, but did not discuss how the $637,400 allocated to them will be handled.

Central Frontenac met this week, and the $251,000 grant was not on the agenda.

North Frontenac will meet this Friday (September 11) and the $215,000 grant that they received is not on the agenda that has been posted.