Penetanguishene shortchanged by province, says councillor

Town not deemed rural or small enough for bigger slice of partnership fund
By Nicole Million Simcoe.com Jan 17, 2011
PENETANGUISHENE – Penetanguishene council is displeased with the amount of money the town has been allotted for 2011 under the Ontario municipal partnership fund (OMPF).
Coun. Daryl O’Shea said the town considers the method used to calculate the $76,400 total is discriminatory to certain small municipalities.
The 2011 allocation, he added, is also down from the previous year, leaving the town with an $8,400 budget challenge.
O’Shea cited some of the highlights from the 2011 allocation notice, which included:
•  an acknowledgement from the province that the town’s assessment base is low and warrants $43,100 in assistance;
•  an explanation that the province is weaning the town from the previous grant level by reducing the grant by “only” 10 per cent;
•  a warning that the town may expect future reductions until the transitional assistance is zero.
The notice also indicated the social programs grant is only offered to municipalities administering Ontario Works, and that the town is not eligible for any other grants because its rural and small community measure is zero per cent.
“This last point is the cruellest cut of all,” said O’Shea. “The measure is based on Statistics Canada analysis and definitions. The percentage of area population included as a small community is zero per cent because most of Penetanguishene is within commuting distance of Midland.”
As the police services grant is based on this measure, the town is also ineligible for that subsidy, he said.
A report to council by the finance and corporate services section compared Penetanguishene to similar municipalities. Of seven reporting municipalities, the town ranks last in the size of its grant; third in police costs per household; third in assessment per household; and last for the rural and small community measure.
O’Shea said if Penetanguishene were considered a small community under OMPF, it would receive $796,057 for the police services grant, $601,380 for the rural communities component, and $43,100 from the assessment component.
“Any opportunity we have for lobbying the government for more funding should be taken advantage of,” said O’Shea. “This could make a huge difference for our taxation rate. Penetanguishene receives such a small amount because of being considered all within commuting distance to Midland.”
Mayor Gerry Marshall agreed council should do whatever it can to try to increase the amount of funding the town receives in the future.
“It’s a 10-kilometre (issue) that could be the difference of thousands of dollars.”