While annual provincial funding has helped to reduce this year’s municipal tax levy, Chatham-Kent’s top finance official is hopeful that funding will continue to increase to offset the potential financial burden on taxpayers.
Chatham-Kent has received $21,545,200 through the 2025 Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF), the province’s main general assistance grant for small, northern and rural municipalities.
This round of funding amounts to a 12 per cent increase over the $19,256,500 received through the program in 2024. However, CK’s Chief Financial Officer Gord Quinton said the increase only marks a return to the level of funding provided through the OMPF in 2018, prior to cuts made by the previous provincial government.
“We’ve only made it back to 2018 levels yet inflation on infrastructure has been tremendous over the last five years. $21 million doesn’t go as far as $21 million went in 2018,” said Quinton. “We greatly appreciate that they returned it to what it was, but it still means pressures on local taxpayers unless they continue to increase it.”
The Ontario government has allocated an additional $50 million in 2025 for the OMPF to provide $550 million in funding to 390 municipalities. The fund was reduced multiple times by the previous government, initially providing $575 million in 2013 and $598 million in 2012. It was reduced again to $500 million in 2018.
“We had to absorb this into our taxes in 2018 when this cut was made, so getting it returned is a great relief,” said Quinton.
Quinton said the additional funding allowed CK administration to reduce the proposed tax increase for 2025 by around one per cent.
“We were able to use that in offsetting some of the costs of the housing crisis and one of our biggest budget items in the 2025 budget update, the cabin site [for the homeless], and also rising infrastructure costs,” he said.
Chatham-Kent Council voted to accept a 4.99 per cent property tax increase on November 27, 2024, following deliberations on the multi-year budget update for 2025. Quinton said the increase to the OMPF helped to reduce the levy increase by around one per cent.
“We just hope [the province] continues to recognize the pressures on municipalities for infrastructure, affordable housing and homelessness response, whether it’s through this funding or other upcoming programs,” said Quinton.
The Ontario government has previously committed to increasing the OMPF to $600 million in 2026.
