Dysart et al is hopeful for more funds from the province despite the funding stream being under review.
Andrea Roberts, the Mayor of Dysart et al, confirmed that the municipality is going to be getting $1.791 million from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund this year. Roberts says that is the same as last year’s total.
Roberts said that because the OMPF is being reviewed by the province, she and her colleagues will be advocating for more funding in years to come. The mayor goes on to point out the money is essential for communities like Dysart.
Like her fellow mayors, Roberts feels the fund is going to be reworked to help rural and northern communities as it was originally intended to do.
According to Roberts, a message that was well-received from the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference was that rural Ontario matters.
Roberts pointed out that in Dysart, the budget will be passed shortly so there is no real concern over capital projects or other expenses being left without funding.
After all, is said and done, Roberts said she’ll continue conversations about the OMPF going forward and talk with the Haliburton MPP Laurie Scott to make sure that the county municipalities still get as much funding as possible.