Big City Mayors join FCM in call for emergency funding for municipalities

Ontario’s Big City Mayors join the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in calling for emergency funding for municipalities

BRANTFORD, ON: The Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO), which is comprised of the province’s 29 largest cities and represents almost 70 per cent of Ontario’s population, has joined the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) in its request for emergency funding for municipalities from the Government of Canada.

In a meeting held Tuesday morning via teleconference, LUMCO mayors, including Mayor Kevin Davis, identified the financial pressures associated with providing critical services while suffering unprecedented revenue losses as an emerging crisis for municipalities, which are unable to run budgetary deficits and have limited revenue generating tools. Just one example is the more than $70 million in lost revenue to date for Transit services that serve LUMCO municipalities. Without fiscal relief from other levels of government, municipalities will be forced to reduce services.

“Our residents depend on the City to continue to provide essential services such as police, fire, paramedics, public transit and the delivery of clean drinking water,” said Mayor Davis. “I join my fellow LUMCO members in imploring the federal government to take significant and immediate action to assist municipalities facing unparalleled financial hardship during this difficult period of uncertainty.”

Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, also participated in the call, committing to further evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on municipal budgets and discuss the need for provincial support and affirming that all three levels of government need to work in tandem to navigate this unprecedented crisis together.

LUMCO passed a resolution stating that Ontario’s big-city mayors are united in their position that running deficits as a way to manage municipal financial challenges as a result of the pandemic is not in the public interest.

“Deficits are not the answer,” said LUMCO Chair and Mayor of Guelph, Cam Guthrie. “The solution is to deal with these financial problems today and not push fiscal challenges to future years. That’s why we need better tools in the toolbox, such as emergency operating funding, to keep critical services running.”

About LUMCO
The Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario (LUMCO) includes mayors of 29 single and lower-tier cities with a population of 100,000 or more, amounting to 69% of Ontario’s population. LUMCO advocates for issues and policies important to Ontario’s largest cities.

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Media Contact
Maria Visocchi - Director, Communications and Community Engagement
City of Brantford | 519.759.4150 ext. 5754 | mvisocchi@brantford.ca