More questions than cash in new gridlock fund: Barrie

By Laurie Watt Barrie Advance

A new $29-billion infrastructure renewal fund is so short on details, Barrie isn’t banking on getting any of the cash to upgrade roads and bridges.

“It’s tough to gauge what it means for Barrie at this point. I can tell you that any plan for provincial investment in infrastructure, both renewal and new projects, is something the city needs, because there’s an infrastructure deficit that’s been difficult to close the gap on,” said Coun. John Brassard, the city’s transportation and economic development committee chairperson.

With its debt at $281 million, Barrie is bracing for $3.1 billion in upgrades and expansions during the next 20 years — a plan that includes $964 million in new roads.

Announced Monday, the promise of new provincial cash would fund transit, roads, bridges and highways over the next decade.

The Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario  (LUMCO) has been urging Ontario to come up with a plan to reduce gridlock, which is costing jobs all over Ontario. Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman, the caucus’s chairperson, said Monday’s announcement is a good start, but many questions remain.

“Part of LUMCO’s key priority on gridlock includes a need for a new founding deal for sustainable revenue to help address this infrastructure deficit and also address the broader sustainable funding and infrastructure issues,” Lehman said.

Cash from the HST on gas and road diesel could be diverted into the fund, as could 7.5 cents of the existing gas tax, the province said.

“We encourage the government to show specifics of funding sources for the plan,” Lehman added.

There are also no details on whether or not the cash would come with no-strings attached. Specifics on the cash and its sources are to be announced in the upcoming provincial budget.

Previous capital funds have required municipalities match funds.

Brassard noted Barrie faces an infrastructure repair backlog. Barrie has been spending about $25 million a year upgrading roads built in the 1950s and 1960s, while it should be spending $85 million a year to maintain and upgrade roads, pipes and bridges.

The city also faced a bit of a financial hangover from the federal stimulus fund, which enabled it to move ahead with projects including a new downtown fire station, Eastview Arena upgrades and a sewage treatment plant expansion.

Barrie has seen its debt rise as a result of the projects, Brassard said, adding he doesn’t want to see either the city’s — or the province’s — debt increase.

“The premier did speak of new revenue tools and increased provincial debt to pay for the plan which concerns me as an Ontario taxpayer. This also concerns me as a city councillor because council will have difficulty with any plan that involves the requirement of debt o the city’s part if the funding formula calls for us to put in money for projects we’re not ready to fund,” he said.

“We saw our debt balloon because of the stimulus program that required the city to take on debt in order to take advantage of the money that was on the table at the time on projects that we hadn’t budgeted for as part of our budget planning process.”