Whereas the funding formulas used to allocate funds for programs such as the Canada Community-Building Fund- Community Works Fund Formerly Gas Tax Fund and the recent Community Growth Fund is based on a per capita formula with a funding floor, the funding apportioned to regional districts is apportioned based on the electoral areas population only and does not account for the services and associated infrastructure maintained by regional districts for services it delivers to member municipalities such as water, wastewater, transit, recreation and parks; And whereas the funding apportioned to regional districts compared to member municipalities was much lower, creating a disparate allocation of funds within some regions: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial andor federal government to reconsider the design of the funding formulas for the Community Works Fund and Community Growth Fund that considers the services delivered and associated infrastructure of the local government versus just that of population.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs The Province appreciates concerns about the allocation of grant funds among municipalities and regional districts. We will review these concerns in advance of any possible future formula-based infrastructure grant program that allocates funds to local governments. Allocation based funding formulas are limited in considering the specific services delivered and associated infrastructure as each local government across the province. There is variation of the levels of services and infrastructure requirements within each local government. The Canada Community Building Fund Community Works Fund CCBF is administered by UBCM and feedback on the methods of allocation for that program should be shared directly with UBCM. The CCBF is in the re-negotiations phase with the federal government; UBCM and the province are currently in the process of reviewing the program delivery model. Local governments asked for the freedom to prioritize which projects to allocate infrastructure grants to. The Growing Communities Fund GCF respects that request. The allocation method for the GCF was designed to provide a greater per capita amount to small municipalities and rural areas in respect of the higher cost of providing services in these communities. In the GCF program, a municipality may contribute from its grant to a regional service if that municipality is a participant and the funding is dedicated for capital or planning purposes. We encourage elected officials around the board table, with the advice and guidance of staff, to recognize how regional district infrastructure serves growing municipalities and allocate funds accordingly.