Oakville News
COVID-relief funding
On Monday, July 27, 2020 the Provincial Government, in partnership with the Federal Government, announced that municipalities will receive up to $4 billion in COVID Relief Funding.
The one-time payments will be made to all of Ontario’s 444 municipalities that have a revenue shortfall due to closures, deferrals of fees and the cost of additional safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuts needed to avoid big increase in 2021 Property Taxes
While the exact details of allocation will be announced in the coming weeks, what we do know is that the funding will help the town maintain the critical services people rely on every day, including public transit.
This COVID Relief Funding is welcome news as I, my mayoral colleagues and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario have been advocating for it since the very early days of the pandemic. Within days of the province’s declaration of a state of emergency I formed my Economic Task Force and began work on our recovery knowing the COVID-19 pandemic would be an economic pandemic as well as a health one.
The Province's emergency order is set to expire on Wednesday and the economic recovery is beginning, but the pandemic is not over.
As I encourage you to shop local I also encourage you to follow the advice of public health and my three Cs of COVID-caution: Avoid crowded places, closed spaces and close-contact settings.
