HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-14-077 - Ontario Ice Storm Assistance Program Staff Report
rTC.�r R finance and Corporate Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: May 12, 2014
SUBMITTED BY: Brenda Johnson, Director of Accounting, 519-741-2200 Ext 7647
PREPARED BY: Brenda Johnson, Director of Accounting, 519-741-2200 Ext 7647
Ryan Hagey, Director of Financial Planning, 519-741-2200
Ext 7353
Jim Witmer, Director of Operations, 519-741-2200 Ext 4657
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: April 30, 2014
REPORT NO.: FCS-14-077
SUBJECT: Ontario Ice Storm Assistance Program
RECOMMENDATION:
That an expression of interest be submitted to the Province of Ontario under the Ontario Ice
Storm Assistance Program to claim financial assistance for costs incurred for damage from the
ice storm of December 2013; and further,
That the Deputy CAO Finance and Corporate Services and City Treasurer be delegated to
submit claims on behalf of the City of Kitchener.
BACKGROUND:
The Province of Ontario is supporting municipalities affected by the December 2013 ice storm
with an Ice Storm Assistance Program (the "program"). The City received notification in April
that the program was being established with guidelines to be released in May 2014. An
expression of interest and delegation of authority is required in order to enable the City to
submit a claim under the program.
REPORT:
Expressions of interest submissions to participate in the program must be made by June 16,
2014 with evidence to support ice damage and estimates of ice storm costs incremental to
regular budgets. All applicants that did not submit a resolution seeking assistance through the
Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP) must submit a resolution from council
seeking provincial assistance for the ice storm. As part of the expression of interest,
municipalities must confirm that authority is delegated to the treasurer to submit claims on
behalf of the municipality. The deadline for final Claim Submissions with supported complete
documentation is August 31, 2014.
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City of Kitchener did not seek assistance through ODRAP at the time of the ice storm, as it was
deemed at the time that the financial impact of the damage caused by the storm was not
extensive enough that it couldn't be managed by the municipality and would not likely meet
historic ODRAP requirements. However, the province is providing this ad hoc program to
financially support municipalities incurring costs related to the damage, and staff believe it is
appropriate to submit incremental costs incurred as the City of Kitchener responded to the ice
storm and subsequent clean up.
Staff will prepare detailed documentation to prove eligible costs, which will be submitted to the
province by August 31, 2014. Expenses can be incurred until June 22, 2014 (six months after
the storm) to be considered eligible. Types of eligible costs include incremental emergency
response, clean-up of debris, incremental costs to provide essential services, equipment,
material and labour, incremental costs of staff for overtime and temporary contract staff, repairs
to pre-disaster condition of the municipality, and incremental costs of appraising and estimating
damage. Many costs are ineligible such as regular salaries and maintenance budgets, routine
emergency service costs of responding to broader disaster consequences, tree replacement or
restoration, costs of restoring or replacing items that were insurable. Assistance amounts will
be dependent on the impact of the damage sustained and the submission of eligible claims.
There is no fixed amount being made available to each municipality.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Efficient and Effective Government— stewardship of public funds; reduce reliance on taxes.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Financial assistance will be dependent on the impact of ice damage sustained, the submission
of eligible claims and the allocation of limited funds across the province. There is no guarantee
that any or all eligible costs will be funded. Any funds received from the program will be
recorded in the fiscal period in which they are confirmed.
To date, the City has incurred approximately $430,000 in ice storm clean-up costs and this
figure is expected to reach a total of approximately $800,000 by the time the clean-up is
completed. The variance impact in 2014 will be provided as part of the April variance report, but
is expected to be much smaller than the total projected cost of$800,000 because:
• Some costs were incurred in 2013 and were included in the 2013 operating results
• Much of the clean-up work is being done by redeploying existing resources from other
activities, which will result in reduced expenses in those areas
• Some of the incremental costs may be covered by the Province
The Operations Division will provide a more detailed summary and accounting of the ice storm
clean up ahead of the submission to the Province should Council wish to proceed with the
application for the financial assistance.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Inform - This report has been posted to the City's website with the committee agenda in
advance of this committee meeting.
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ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Dan Chapman, Deputy CAO Finance and Corporate Services and City Treasurer
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