City receives confirmation on Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund

On December 21, 2018, correspondence was received from the Minister of Finance indicating to municipalities that its Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) will be reduced by an unspecified amount and allocation notices for 2019 will be released at a later date. Typically, the OMPF allocations are received prior to the end of the previous fiscal year to assist municipalities in their budget planning. The City of Sault Ste. Marie has now received confirmation that the 2019 OMPF grant will be consistent with 2018 levels.

"This is reassuring for our City as we implement our Council approved 2019 budget year. Non-tax revenue such as user fees, grants from other levels of government, investment income and other miscellaneous income helped reduce the amount to be raised through property taxes. In addition to user fees, government grants are the largest source of non-tax revenue the municipality can receive," said Al Horsman, CAO, Sault Ste. Marie.