INVESTMENTS TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY AND EFFICIENCY WILL SUPPORT COMMUNITIES, RESPECT TAXPAYER DOLLARS
BROCKVILLE – Municipalities in Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes will receive a total of more than $7.6 million to improve local service delivery and efficiency as part of a one-time investment announced today by Steve Clark, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
“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 in my riding and across Ontario improve how they deliver services and reduce the ongoing costs of providing those services,” said Clark. “I look forward to continuing to work together with our municipal partners to help people and businesses in communities across our province thrive.”
Locally, each of the riding’s 13 municipalities and the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville will receive funding to improve service delivery by finding smarter, more efficient ways to spend money that help those who need it most while respecting taxpayer dollars, said Clark.
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.
Ontario’s Government for the People was elected to restore transparency and accountability in Ontario’s finances. The province undertook a line-by-line review of its own expenditures and Clark said the government has been clear in expecting its partners, including municipalities, to become more efficient.
Clark said examples could include service delivery reviews, development of shared services agreements, IT solutions, capital investments or other projects.
“A key part of this announcement is that municipalities will decide how to best target funding to benefit their local communities,” said Clark. “They know the needs of their local taxpayers and we’ve provided them with the flexibility to make those individualized decisions.”
Clark added today’s funding announcement supports Ontario’s commitment to reduce the cost of government.
QUICK FACTS
The following is the breakdown for local municipal funding:
United Counties of Leeds and Grenville: $725,000
Brockville: $685,367
Gananoque: $650,720
Prescott: $591,400
Westport: $198,317
Merrickville-Wolford: $371,843
Augusta: $583,000
Front of Yonge: $350,895
North Grenville: $632,832
Rideau Lakes: $632,832
Athens $381,969
Edwardsburgh-Cardinal: $584,335
Leeds and the Thousand Islands: $632,832
Elizabethtown-Kitley: $609,055
- Across Ontario, 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.
