Province providing funding for local municipal modernization projects

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES/BROCK: The Ontario Provincial Government is supporting a few service delivery projects in Kawartha Lakes and Brock Township.

On Wednesday, June 30th, MPP Laurie Scott announced $458,750 in funding towards four projects in Brock Township, City of Kawartha Lakes and the Township of Cavan Monaghan. The funding is coming from the Province’s Municipal Modernization Program.

“COVID-19 has demonstrated the need to modernize the important programs and services municipalities provide,” MPP Scott explained in a press release. “Not only will these projects help ensure community members will benefit from innovative and streamlined solutions, [but] they will also save taxpayers’ dollars.”

One of the projects receiving provincial funding is the City of Kawartha Lakes’ Fire Department Service Delivery Review.

“Kawartha Lakes Fire Service operates over an extensive geographic area with 20 stations. We employ approximately 350 staff, the majority of which are volunteer firefighters. Given the significant size of the service and ongoing budgetary pressures associated with maintaining equipment and facilities, we will use the funding for a third-party review of the fire service budgets. We thank the Province, and our local MPP, Laurie Scott, for their commitment to assist municipalities to modernize services to continue meeting the needs of our communities,” Kawartha Lakes Mayor Andy Letham said in a statement.

The Township of Brock has two projects being supported with this funding, their Corporate IT Strategic Plan and the Digital Modernization Implementation project.

“This funding will help the Township of Brock modernize service delivery and better assist local residents,” Brock Mayor John Grant said in a statement. “Thank you to the provincial government for providing this funding [which] will allow us to reallocate funding to other areas of need.”

#BrockTownship #KawarthaLakes #OntarioFunding