Municipalities get a break on project costs

Cost-sharing ratio for municipalities applying for federal funding will see a shift in the near future

A big change for municipalities could make paving roads and building community centres more possible.

Premier Dwight Ball, at the Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, announced changes to the federal cost-sharing ratios for municipal projects.

Previously, if a municipality wanted a new road or a new municipal building, it would have to chip in half the cost of the road or 40 per cent of the building. Now, municipalities will only have to chip in a third of the cost, with the provincial and federal governments taking care of the rest.

The new ratios only apply to projects with federal funding.

Any projects cost-shared between a municipality and the provincial government will still have the same municipal-provincial split of 50-50 for roads, and 40-60 for municipal buildings.

Ball says the changes were made possible in part due to the federal Investing in Canada fund.

“Through our collaborative relationship with the federal government, we are pleased to have been able to lower cost shares under the Investing in Canada Plan, and now municipalities will have more funds to invest in making their communities better places to live and work,” Ball said in a statement.

The new funding model will be made available to municipalities in the next call for project applications, to be issued Oct. 15.

In a news release, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador president Tony Keats says it’s a change the organization has been seeking for some time.

“Our members called on the provincial government to work with Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador on more affordable ways for municipalities to invest in roads,” said Keats.

“This announcement responds to that call and allows many of our members to get on with the important work of building their communities.”

New public transit projects will see a 26/33/40 split between municipal, provincial, and federal governments, respectively. Repairs to public transit will see municipalities chipping in 16 per cent.

Towns with a population of less than 3,000 will chip in 10 per cent of green infrastructure projects, such as disaster preparedness projects.