Town of St. Marys receives emergency funding for COVID-19 expenses

The Town of St. Marys will soon be the recipient of a funding boost from the provincial and federal governments. The funding is part of the governments’ Safe Restart Agreement, which aims to help municipalities address the financial pressure of COVID-19, maintain critical services and protect vulnerable people.

The first phase of funding will be released to municipalities in September of 2020. The Town will receive $396,700 in emergency funding in Phase 1. A portion of this money will be used to cover the Town’s COVID-19-related estimated deficit of $195,000 for 2020. The remaining $201,700 will be put toward COVID-19 costs and revenue losses in 2021, which are currently projected to be around $300,000.

The Town will receive an additional $23,329 to address local transit pressures. This funding will be used to alleviate the COVID-19 related financial challenges faced by St. Marys and Area Mobility services, which provides specialized transit services in the community.

A second phase of emergency funding will be released by the provincial and federal governments in 2021. As the Town continues to understand the full cost implications of COVID-19, it will determine whether it is eligible to apply for more funding in Phase 2.

“On behalf of myself and Council, I would like to thank the provincial and federal governments for providing this much-needed funding to municipalities,” said Mayor Al Strathdee.

“As a Council and a corporation, we have worked hard to protect our community, while remaining accountable to our tax payers,” he continued. “This funding will help to offset some of the costs we’ve incurred throughout this pandemic and allow us to continue to focus on the health and safety of our residents.”

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Contact

Brett O’Reilly | Corporate Communications & Events Manager
519-284-2340, ext. 432 | boreilly@town.stmarys.on.ca