FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2019
Ontario Invests in Small and Rural Municipalities to Improve Service Delivery and Efficiency Investments Will Support Communities, Respect Taxpayer Dollars
QUEENS PARK – Ontario’s government is working for the people to improve local service delivery and efficiency in the province’s municipalities. On March 20, 2019, Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced a one-time investment for many of Ontario’s small and rural municipalities.
The County of Brant will receive $725,000.00 to improve service delivery by finding smarter, more efficient ways to spend money that help those who need it most while respecting taxpayer dollars. This will support some of Ontario’s small and rural municipalities that may have limited capacity to plan, modernize and improve the way they provide services to their communities.
“Taxpayers need their local government to deliver modern, efficient services that show respect for their hard-earned dollars. This funding will help small and rural municipalities improve how they deliver services and reduce the ongoing costs of providing those services,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “I look forward to continuing to work together with our municipal partners to help people and businesses in communities across our province thrive.”
Ontario’s government was elected to restore transparency and accountability in Ontario’s finances. The province undertook a line-by-line review of its own expenditures, and we have been clear that we expect our partners, including municipalities, to be taking steps to become more efficient. Examples could include service delivery reviews, development of shared services agreements, IT solutions, capital investments or other projects. Municipalities will decide how to best target funding to benefit their local communities.
“This payment puts Ontarians at the heart of municipal decision making. We are providing this money to support the County of Brant so that they can find smarter ways to deliver services that support our community and respect taxpayer dollars” said Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma.
The funding supports Ontario’s commitment to reduce the cost of government.
QUICK FACTS • County of Brant: $725,000.00. • 405 small and rural municipalities will receive funding. • To ensure investments are targeted to where they are needed most, funding will be allocated based on the number of households in a municipality and whether the municipality is urban or rural.
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For more information, please contact MPP Will Bouma at 519-759-0361 or will.bouma@pc.ola.org