Uploading or downloading? County, province at odds

By Richard Blanchard Innisfil Scope September 5 2012

Local municipalities may end up shouldering more financial burden, as the province downloads services to the lower tiers of government, according to Adjala-Tosorontio mayor Tom Walsh.

Walsh was responding to reports from the County of Simcoe’s Human Services Committee, that changes announced in the provincial government would see the county responsible for providing more funding for various programs offered under the Ontario Works program. 

The county would be expected to come up with an additional $70,000 for discretionary costs alone in Ontario Works.

“I can’t see how the county can keep up with this downloading from the province,” he said.

County warden Cal Patterson said that from discussions at the recent Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa, the county was just seeing the ‘tip of the iceberg’, in terms of downloading. 

“There’s going to be downloading and about the only thing that we can do is try and deal with it though our budget process,” he said.

Deputy warden Harry Hughes said that he was disturbed with the mechanics of downloading by the province.

“It seems to be by stealth,” he said.

 

Ontario government news release August 20 2012 

Ontario is uploading more expenses from municipalities, helping to reduce costs for municipalities and local families.

This year, court security costs are being uploaded to the province. Municipalities will also continue to see cost savings from previous uploads in social assistance programs, including the Ontario Drug Benefit Program, the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Ontario Works program, resulting in a benefit of $1.2 billion in 2012.

Since 2003, Ontario has also increased support to municipalities by:

Building or rebuilding more than 828 bridges and 6,700 km of road across the province.

Launching a municipal infrastructure strategy that includes $60 million over three years to support municipal asset management and help fund critical projects.

Investing more than $13.4 billion in public transit in Ontario communities.

Committing more than $2.2 billion in gas tax funding to municipalities to help purchase transit vehicles, add routes, extend hours of service, and upgrade transit infrastructure.

Partnering with municipalities to build or repair more than 270,000 affordable housing units by investing $2.5 billion, more than any previous government.

Increasing the provincial share of land ambulance costs by $250.6 million or 115.7 per cent.

 Increasing the provincial share of public health costs from 50 per cent to 75 per cent.

These supports are helping municipalities to lower, freeze or minimize property taxes and ensure that more tax dollars are available for important municipal priorities like water treatment, infrastructure, economic development, and community services.

Helping ensure sustainable public services and vibrant communities is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to strengthen the economy.  A strong economy helps protect the services that mean most to families – health care and education.

QUOTES

“These uploads are strengthening municipalities by giving more support for local services like affordable housing, transit and child care. It’s an important step in our efforts to build stronger, healthier communities for our children and grandchildren.”

 – Kathleen Wynne

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

QUICK FACTS

The Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review was initiated in 2006.

The review resulted in a landmark agreement between the province, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the City of Toronto.

By 2018, when the uploading is complete, municipal budgets will see a total net benefit of $1.5 billion each year.