LUMCO Mayors urge Provincial and Federal COVID-19 Relief for Municipalities

COVID-19LUMCO
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Earlier today, I met with fellow Mayors from the Large Urban Mayors' Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO) to urge provincial and federal governments to provide relief for municipalities as we face unprecedented economic challenges due to COVID-19. LUMCO Mayors, including myself, are grateful for the leadership and collaboration demonstrated by the provincial and federal governments to support residents and businesses during the pandemic. We continue to work together to prioritize the health and well being of our residents and businesses, and to support those who are most vulnerable to the virus and its many physical, mental, and financial impacts.Municipalities are working tirelessly to deliver the critical services that residents rely on in the face of plummeting revenues and increasing costs.Ontario’s big city mayors support the approach proposed by the Ontario government to provide immediate financial relief to municipalities for COVID19-related expenses and lost revenues, in a manner similar to other programs already fully funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario to support individuals and businesses throughout the COVID-19 crisis.On May 8, LUMCO mayors proposed the following three-phased approach to enable cities to recover from the COVID-19 crisis:1. Relief: Immediate financial relief for municipalities facing fiscal pressure as a result of reduced revenues, with a focus on addressing the projected $415 million revenue loss from April to June in transit systems that serve LUMCO municipalities2. Recovery: A comprehensive recovery plan to address COVID19-related impacts for municipalities as they work to reopen the economy, and3. Reform: A longer-term partnership agreement between municipalities and the federal and provincial governments to re-align capital and service delivery responsibilities with sustainable revenue streams for the future.You can read the full letter sent today here: May 14 2020 LUMCO to PM and Premier re COVID funding resolution.—PLEASE NOTE: To stay updated on what the City of Burlington is doing regarding COVID-19, please visit the dedicated pages burlington.ca/coronavirus (and subscribe) and bit.ly/mayormeedwardCOVID19updates, and our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page — bit.ly/COVID19BurlingtonFAQ that are updated as new information becomes available.A Burlington COVID-19 Task Force has been created to help support our community through this unprecedented emergency — updates will be provided at burlington.ca/COVID19taskforce.To report an incident of non-compliance with provincial emergency orders, please contact the Halton Regional Police Service COVID-19 Hotline: 905-825-4722.We’ve also created a dedicated page to feature the local organizations and businesses that have inspired us during the COVID-19 pandemic by taking action to support our community in new and creative ways — head to bit.ly/covidwallofinspiration.HELPFUL RESOURCES & RELATED LINKS:

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