The Town of Collingwood will be getting more than $900,000 in COVID-related government funding.
Collingwood Treasurer Marjory Leonard said the funding was confirmed by two letters.
A letter from the minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for Ontario said Collingwood would receive $754,000 from the Phase 1 Safe Restart funding. A second letter from Minister Caroline Mulroney (Ontario Ministry of Transportation) also promised $161,328 in funding earmarked for transit.
The Safe Restart funding was announced by Premier Doug Ford yesterday. He promised $1.6 billion total with $695 million in the first round of funding for Ontario’s 444 municipalities.
The province is also providing $660 million in the first phase for transit funding to the 110 municipalities with transit systems to assist with added pressures due to low ridership and increased cleaning and PPE.
The Safe Restart funding was allocated on a per-household basis, shared 50/50 between upper and lower-tier governments.
The money is earmarked for relief of the “municipal financial pressures created by COVID-19.”
Leonard estimates the Town of Collingwood’s COVID-related expenses total about $500,000 right now, including lost revenues from waiving interest penalties on taxes and wastewater bills.
The town was providing transit at no charge through the pandemic, but has since resumed fares.
For more on the estimated costs of COVID-19 for the Town of Collingwood, click here.
