Town could lose $1.3 million in funding

Posted By JOHN TAPLEY , STAFF WRITER

Posted 2 months ago

Ingersoll could lose more than $1.3 million in annual funding if the province moves ahead with a proposal to cut Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) payments starting next year.

Mayor Paul Holbrough said town staff learned three weeks ago that Ingersoll is one of 160 municipalities facing cuts if the proposal is implemented.

"We're getting word that we may be the most affected (out of the 160) because of our size and the amount we receive," Holbrough said.

Making up $1.3 million through municipal taxes would require a 16.3 per cent increase.

"Can you ask for a 16 per cent increase in taxes?" said Coun. John Fortner when the issue was discussed at a council meeting on Monday last week. "Not in this economy, you can't."

Holbrough has sent letters to Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan, Premier Dalton McGuinty and MPPs, drawing attention to the severe impact the funding cut would have on the town. He is also raising the issue with provincial officials in person at every opportunity.

There has been no consultation on the proposed cuts, Holbrough said, and they aren't etched in stone.

"I'm hopeful they'll change their mind, but if they don't I want the whole world to know the impact it'll have on our community," he said.

While municipalities are expecting to see savings from the Provincial- Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review agreement reached in 2008, they

won't be fully realized until 2018, said

Holbrough.

Preferably the province will drop

the idea of cuts to OMPF altogether,

he said, but failing that, changes should be phased in rather than being implemented all at once.

"Let's be fair here, that's all," Holbrough said.

He said the province is experiencing revenue issues just like everyone else and has spent a lot of money on infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy. Ingersoll is among the municipalities that have benefited from that stimulus funding, Holbrough said, but "it's kind of like Christmas morning; it's good for a day."

"We still need to maintain some sustainable funding that goes on throughout the year," he said.

Holbrough said it could take until the end of March when the province reaches its fiscal year end before there is a final decision on the cuts. That will make the town budget process difficult, he said.