ONTARIO SUPPORTS MODERNIZATION OF SMALL AND RURAL COMMUNITIES
Province helps improve the delivery of critical programs and services in Waterloo Region
NEWS January 28, 2022
WATERLOO REGION — The Ontario government is providing over $28 million to help 322 small and rural municipalities find better and more efficient ways to deliver local services for residents and businesses. The funding is being delivered through the Municipal Modernization Program and will support the following projects in the Townships of Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich:
- Township of Wellesley Budget Software Implementation
- Township of Wellesley Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation
- Township of Wilmot Records Management Modernization
- Township of Woolwich Records Management Modernization
“This round of funding will support the Townships of Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich in updating services to make life more convenient and accessible for families and businesses in our communities,” said Mike Harris, MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga. “The Municipal Modernization Program will go a long way in ensuring that local services are modernized and sustainable long into the future.”
Municipalities can use the funding to conduct reviews of local services and administrative operations to find efficiencies, including accelerating the creation of new housing through streamlined development approvals and working with neighbouring municipalities to share services.
“COVID-19 has highlighted the need for municipalities to be as efficient and nimble as possible, while ensuring services remain financially sustainable today and in the future,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Through the Municipal Modernization Program, our government continues to support our municipal partners to operate more efficiently and streamline processes to deliver high-quality, sustainable services for residents and businesses, when and where they need them.”
With the Municipal Modernization Program, as well as the new Streamline Development Approval Fund and the Audit and Accountability Fund, our government is helping municipalities across the province make their planning and approval processes more efficient in order to unlock and fast-track new housing to address the housing supply crisis.
QUICK FACTS
- Over the lifespan of the Municipal Modernization Program and Audit and Accountability Fund, Ontario is providing up to $350 million to help municipalities identify and implement modern solutions.
- At the January 19th Ontario-Municipal Housing Summit, Ontario announced a new $45 million Streamline Development Approvals Fund, as well as an additional investment of over $8 million through the Audit and Accountability Fund, to help large urban municipalities identify efficiencies and streamline processes, such as development approvals, with the goal of building more homes faster to address the housing supply crisis.
- The province’s ongoing work to address housing supply complements our continued supports for supportive and affordable housing for our most vulnerable Ontarians. Through the Community Housing Renewal Strategy and Ontario’s response to COVID-19, the province is providing more than $3 billion between 2020 and 2022. This includes over $1 billion through the Social Services Relief Fund to municipal and Indigenous partners, which is one of the largest investments in affordable housing and homelessness supports in the province’s history.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE