Burlington, Ont.—Aug. 12, 2020 — As the City of Burlington continues to resume services during COVID-19, fiscal responsibility has been a priority to make sure the City is able to deliver services and keep tax rates reasonable without incurring a year end shortfall. Today, the Province of Ontario announced as part of the federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement that the City of Burlington will receive $4,470,700 to support municipal operating pressures for Phase 1 and Burlington Transit will receive $1,571,213 to support municipal transit systems for Phase 1.
Senior City staff will be presenting the monthly COVID-19 verbal update to the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee Meeting on Aug. 13. At the last monthly update to Burlington City Council on July 9, the City was estimating revenue losses of $18 million. The City was able to mitigate $9.9 million for a projected year end shortfall of $8.1 million before needing to draw from reserve funds.
Municipalities will be provided with up to $1.6 billion as part of the first round of emergency funding under the Safe Restart Agreement. This funding will help municipalities like Burlington protect the health and well-being of our residents, while continuing to deliver critical public services to our community and assist with economic recovery.
Through the Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government, $695 million will help municipalities address operating pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic through the first round of emergency funding, and over $660 million will support transit systems. The province is also providing an additional $212 million through the Social Services Relief Fund to help vulnerable people find shelter.
In addition to the support for municipalities, the government is providing over $660 million in the first phase of transit funding to the 110 municipalities with transit systems. The funding can be used to provide immediate relief from transit pressures, such as lower ridership, as well as for new costs due to COVID-19, such as enhanced cleaning and masks for staff. In the second phase, additional allocations will be provided based on expenses incurred to ensure the funding meets the needs of municipalities. As part of the Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government, up to $2 billion is being provided to support public transit in Ontario.
Burlington is ranked as Canada’s best community and best place to raise a family. It is a City where people, nature and businesses thrive. As residents continue to rediscover many of their favourite spaces and activities in the city, City services may look different as we work to stop the spread of COVID-19. The City’s commitment to providing the community with essential services remains a priority. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at Burlington.ca/Enews and download the free City of Burlington app.
Quotes
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
“We are delighted by today’s funding announcement. The Prime Minister and the Premier listened to our voices and heard our concerns. This is exactly the support we need from our upper levels of government to continue to provide the services our residents need, in the midst of COVID-19. Today’s funding announcement for Burlington will allow us to continue to serve our community without service cuts, unacceptable tax increases or depleting reserves. I want to thank our MPs Karina Gould, Pam Damoff and Adam van Koeverden, and MPPs Jane McKenna, Effie Triantafilopoulos and Parm Gill for being strong advocates for us and securing this much-needed financial relief for Burlington."
Links
August 12 Provincial media release
COVID-19 Links and Resources
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Media contact:
Suzanne Vukosavljevic
Manager of Communications
Office: 905-335-7600, ext. 7841
suzanne.vukosavljevic@burlington.ca
