Unanimous Support from Burlington Council on Resolution for Additional Safe Restart Agreement Funding for Municipalities

I want to thank Councillors Kelvin Galbraith and Angelo Bentivegna for bringing forward a motion to our Feb. 15 Council meeting calling on upper levels of government to provide additional Safe Restart Agreement funding support for municipalities in 2022 -- and also to all of my Council colleagues for their unanimous support of the motion.The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on both revenues and expenditures for municipalities, including the City of Burlington.To read the full motion, please scroll further down this post or click here: ADM-03-22 Motion-Memorandum-Additional Safe Restart Funding.

MY TAKE: As much as we'd like to be, we're not out of this pandemic yet or the economic fallout that has been a result of it. We continue to see a decline in our revenues because of closures ($5.8 million) and although we have reduced many costs, there are still some that we can't reduce or recoup. So, we still need the Safe Restart support funding and we hope our request to our provincial and federal governments are successful. The Ontario's Big City Mayors caucus is also advocating for additional Safe Restart Agreement funding in support of municipalities in 2022.

MOTION MEMO:Whereas the Safe Restart Agreement funding was vital in enabling municipalities, including the City of Burlington, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, maintain critical services, meet our responsibility to balance our budgets while maintaining the health and safety for members of the public and staff; andWhereas when the Province of Ontario entered Modified Step 2 of the Roadmap to Reopen in January 2022, the restrictions forced the closure of municipal indoor recreational facilities and amenities, which resulted in the cancellation of programs and facility rentals until January 26, 2022; andWhereas the City of Burlington is forecasting significant revenue losses for 2022 (in excess of $5.8 million), prior to the most recent closures in January 2022 particularly for services such as transit, recreation facilities and programs and parking operations; andWhereas the City of Burlington is also forecasting continuing COVID-19 related expenditures to maintain service delivery and comply with the regulations; andWhereas the full effect of the pandemic will continue to be felt in municipalities in 2022, well beyond the funding provided under the existing Safe Restart Agreement;Therefore be it resolved that Burlington City Council calls on the Governments of Canada and Ontario to provide additional Safe Restart Agreement funding support for municipalities in 2022; andThat a copy of this resolution be sent the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister; the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier; the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; the Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Provincial Minister of Finance; Burlington MPs, MPPs, FCM, AMO, OBCM, Halton Region and the Towns of Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville.