Ontario Provides Over $15 Million in Funding Allocations to Municipalities in Haliburton-Kawartha La

The Ontario government is delivering on its commitment to maintain the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) program envelope and structure for 2021.

Municipalities in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock will receive $15,671,800 in funding allocations to provide them with flexibility to address the needs of their communities, based on their own local priorities. The OMPF is the Province’s main general assistance grant, that supports 389 municipalities, with a special emphasis on northern and rural communities.

“The OMPF is an important source of revenue for municipalities in HKLB and our government will continue to support the economic recovery through this local, stable, and adaptable funding,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

This more than $15.6 million in funding is in addition to the over $8 million in provincial assistance for the first round of emergency funding under the Safe Restart Agreement which was provided to local communities across Haliburton-Kawartha Lake-Brock in response to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Local municipal funding is as follows:

Municipality 2020 OMPF Algonquin Highlands Township $1,264,000 Brock Township $877,400 Cavan Monaghan Township $502,300 Dysart et al $1,791,600 Haliburton County $241,600 Highlands East $1,970,500 City of Kawartha Lakes $7,210,700 Minden Hills Township $1,813,700

“Our government recognizes the importance of certainty and stability for municipalities, particularly in these challenging times,” said Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance. “Our government will continue to work together with municipal governments to build a strong foundation for Ontario’s long-term economic recovery, and to improve the quality of life for the people across the province.”

The 2021 OMPF will provide a $5 million enhancement to further support northern and rural municipalities. This includes a $3 million increase to the Northern and Rural Fiscal Circumstances Grant to further support northern and rural municipalities with challenging fiscal circumstances and a $2 million increase to the Rural Communities Grant to further support rural municipalities with the highest levels of farmland.

Maintaining the existing funding envelope and structure of the OMPF program for 2021 fulfils a commitment made by Premier Doug Ford during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual conference in August 2020.

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