COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant for Local Governments (Correspondence)
Letter from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs advising the Town of its direct grant allocation to support operations impacted by COVID-19.
November 2, 2020
Ref: 257671
Kim Anema Chief Administrative Officer Town of View Royal 45 View Royal Ave Victoria BC V9B 1A6
Dear Kim Anema:
The provincial government understands the fiscal impacts that COVID-19 has placed on local service providers. To help address these challenges, in September the Province of British Columbia announced nearly $2 billion in joint federal/provincial spending, including: $540 million for local governments, $418 million for community infrastructure, and $1 billion for transit, TransLink and ferries.
The $540 million for local governments was further divided into three funding streams. Two of the streams (“Development Services” for $15 million and “Strengthening Communities” for $100 million) will be application-based funding. More information on these funding streams will be forthcoming.
The third stream will provide direct grants to local governments. This funding stream is called the “COVID-19 Safe Restart Grants for Local Governments” and will provide up to $425 million for local operations impacted by COVID-19. This funding will support local governments as they deal with increased operating costs and lower revenue due to COVID-19. It will also ensure local governments can continue to deliver the services people depend on in their communities. Eligible costs will include:
- addressing revenues shortfalls;
- facility reopening and operating costs;
- emergency planning and response costs;
- bylaw enforcement and protective services like fire protection and police;
- computer and other electronic technology costs (to improve interconnectivity and virtual communications);
- services for vulnerable persons (e.g. persons living with disabilities, mental illness or addictions, persons experiencing homelessness or other vulnerabilities); and
- other related costs.
I am pleased to advise you that View Royal is the recipient of a $2,613,000 grant under the COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant for Local Governments. This amount will be directly transferred to your local government in the coming days.
Under section 36 of the Local Government Grants Regulation, the amount of the grant to each local government is set by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The determination of this amount was based on a formula that applies to all municipalities.
This formula is based on two components: a flat funding amount and an “adjusted per-capita” amount. The flat amount is $169,000, and the “adjusted per-capita” amount is $308.34 per adjusted population.
The adjusted population formula is designed to ensure that larger municipalities receive more money than smaller ones, but that smaller municipalities receive higher per capita funding than larger ones. This is because small municipalities often lack a diverse tax base and the economies-of-scale to easily restart their operations.
An example of the funding formula (for a municipality of 43,000 people) is provided as an attachment to this letter. If you wish, you can apply this formula to your 2018 population of 11,318 to determine both your adjusted population and total funding amount. 2018 population data was used because it is the last year in which we have complete financial and demographic data for each municipality.
To ensure full transparency regarding the use of funds, your local government will be required to annually report on how it spent this grant. This will be part of your annual financial reporting under section 167 of the Community Charter. Your local government will provide a schedule to the audited financial statements respecting the amount of funding received, the use of those funds, and the year-end balance of unused funds. Your local government must continue to annually report on the use of grant money until the funds are fully drawn down.
If you have questions or comments regarding this letter, please feel free to contact Jennifer Richardson, Grants Analyst, Local Government Infrastructure and Finance Branch, by email at: Jennifer.Richardson@gov.bc.ca, or by phone at: 778 698-3243.
The provincial government welcomes this opportunity to support COVID-19 restart and recovery throughout British Columbia. We believe that this funding will contribute to the long-term recovery of local governments who are both critical service providers and crucial drivers in the British Columbia economy.
Sincerely,
Kaye Krishna Deputy Minister
Attachment
pc: Jennifer Richardson, Grants Analyst, Local Government Infrastructure and Finance Branch Dawn Christenson, Chief Financial Officer, Town of View Royal
Attachment: Example Calculation for a Municipality with 43,000 People
City of Rockridge
| Population | 43,000 |
| Adjusted Per Capita Funding | $308.34 per adjusted population |
| Flat Funding Amount | $169,000 |
Funding model
| Population Range (From - To) | Range (C=B-A) | Adjustment Ratio (D) | Rockridge Pop (E = C up to 43,000) | Adjusted Pop Calc (F = E x D) | Adjusted Pop (F) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - to 2,000 | 2,000 | 1 | 2,000 | = 2,000 x 1 | 2,000 |
| 2,001 to 5,000 | 3,000 | 0.8 | 3,000 | = 3,000 x 0.8 | 2,400 |
| 5,001 to 10,000 | 5,000 | 0.6 | 5,000 | = 5,000 x 0.6 | 3,000 |
| 10,001 to 20,000 | 10,000 | 0.4 | 10,000 | = 10,000 x 0.4 | 4,000 |
| 20,001 to 40,000 | 20,000 | 0.2 | 20,000 | = 20,000 x 0.2 | 4,000 |
| 40,001 to 150,000 | 110,000 | 0.1 | 3,000 | = 3,000 x 0.1 | 300 |
| 150,001 to 900,000 | 750,000 | 0.05 | - | = 0 x 0.05 | - |
| Sum | 43,000 | 15,700 G=ΣF |
| Per capita funding | $308.34 | H |
| Funding per Adjusted Pop | 4,840,938 | I=GxH |
| Flat Funding Amount | 169,000 | J |
| Total Funding Amount | 5,009,938 | K=I+J |
Thus, a municipality with a population of 43,000 would have an adjusted population of 15,698. With per capita funding of $308.34, the funding per adjusted population would $4.84 million. Plus a flat funding amount of $169,000, the total funding to this municipality would be $5.009M.
The Population data was taken from the Ministry's Local Government Stats System for 2018 (Schedule 201). https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/facts-framework/statistics/statistics
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