MAPLETON – Staff and council here have expended “a significant amount of time, effort and resources” applying for provincial and federal funding for housing development and community growth over the last two years, but all four of the applications the township submitted were unsuccessful.
That’s according to a report from Mapleton chief financial officer Patrick Kelly that was presented to council on Feb. 11.
“I just thought it would be important to shed some light on the efforts that are being put forth by the township to secure funding through a number of programs, and the unsuccessful applications that we’ve had recently and the impact that can have,” Kelly said during the meeting.
The report, he said, speaks to “the hope that we have for the provincial and federal governments to see the benefits of investing in rural Ontario.
“We can’t rely on being hopeful for external funding – hope is not a plan,” Kelly said, and Mapleton does not create budgets or long-term financial plans based on assumptions that application-based funding will be received.
“But having said that, external funding programs can increase our financial sustainability and flexibility.”
“In an effort to offset the impact of infrastructure costs on the general tax base, township staff actively monitor and apply for external funding support through a variety of senior government programs and initiatives,” the report states.
These funding programs are from provincial and federal ministries and agencies.
Mapleton is preparing for “significant infrastructure investments over the next several years,” it continues, that “are critical to maintaining a safe and reliable network of roads, bridges and underground infrastructure, while building necessary capacity for future community growth.”
The township submitted two successive applications each for the federal Housing Accelerator Fund and the provincial Housing Enabling Water Systems Fund.
All four of these applications were unsuccessful.
For the Housing Accelerator Fund, Kelly said Mapleton was seeking just under $8 million “to assist the municipality in funding some of our critical underground infrastructure, as well as enabling us to support housing growth within the community.”
The application “highlighted nine program initiatives that, with funding support, would accelerate the development of housing, particularly affordable and multi-unit dwellings,” the report states.
Staff were told in early February that the second application was unsuccessful, and have requested a debriefing session with program administrators to determine the reason.
The Housing Enabling Water Systems Fund aims “to protect communities by investing in the repair, rehabilitation and expansion of core water, wastewater and stormwater projects to promote growth and enable housing,” the report states.
Mapleton applied for the funding to support its wastewater treatment capacity expansion that will increase wastewater capacity from 900 to 1,300 cubic metres per day.
Kelly said township staff followed up with the ministry for feedback about why the initial application was unsuccessful.
“We were highly optimistic, given that feedback, that through submitting an application under intake two we would secure funding for our rural municipality to support underground infrastructure and housing growth,” Kelly said.
“Unfortunately, earlier this year we were advised that once again we were unsuccessful under that program.”
Kelly said the total amount of funding available through both intakes of the Housing Enabling Water Systems Fund totalled $700 million, meaning if the province was using a formula-based system instead of application-based, “we’d be looking at $2.4 million of additional transfer payments to Mapleton alone.”
That’s why township staff and council are continuing to “advocate for a shift from application-based programs to formula-based programs,” Kelly said.
“Until such a time as that shift has happened, we will still put every effort forth to apply for any program that there is available in an effort to reduce the impact on our tax base,” he said.
