In the wake of substantial economic struggles amid the pandemic, Hamilton will be receiving almost $45 million in provincial and federal dollars to help soften the financial blow brought on by COVID-19.
A piece of a $4 billion aid plan through the provincial and federal Safe Restart Agreement, the funds are set to be allocated with $27.6 million supporting municipal operations and the remaining $17.2 million going towards local public transit.
Yesterday, the province announced its first round of emergency operating funding for municipalities. I want to thank @JustinTrudeau and @fordnation for working together and listening to municipalities!https://t.co/r2ws4LpbAG#HamOnt pic.twitter.com/OTopIneDe5
— Fred Eisenberger (@MayorsArchive) August 13, 2020
Thanks to this funding bailout, Hamilton could potentially avoid the need for significant tax hikes or cuts to valuable municipal services resulting from the financial crises that the city – and other cities like it across Ontario and the entire country – are reckoning with due to the unprecedented realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On behalf of the City of Hamilton, I would like to thank Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Ford for listening to municipalities during this unprecedented time and working together to deliver this funding needed to maintain critical services,” said Hamilton’s Mayor Fred Eisenberger in a statement.
“I look forward to continuing to work alongside all orders of government to support our long and short-term economic recovery.”
City finance staff are in the midst of working out the specifics of how this relief funding will impact Hamilton’s current shortfall.
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