HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN-19-031 - Additional Federal Gas Tax FundingREPORT TO:Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:April 15, 2019
SUBMITTED BY:Ryan Hagey, Director of Financial Planning, 519-741-2200 x 7353
PREPARED BY:Ryan Hagey, Director of Financial Planning, 519-741-2200 x 7353
WARD (S) INVOLVED:All
DATE OF REPORT:March 25, 2019
REPORT NO.:FIN-19-031
SUBJECT:Additional Federal Gas Tax Funding
___________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
For information
BACKGROUND:
On March 19, 2019the Government of Canadatabled its2019 Federal Budgetandannounced
that it would be providing an additional $2.2 billion to Canadian municipalities to addressshort-
term priority infrastructure needs throughaone-time allocation of Federal Gas Tax Funding. It
is expected that approximately $820 millionof total announced fundingwill be providedto
Ontario municipalities.The Association of Municipalitiesof Ontario(AMO) isresponsible for
administering theFederal Gas Tax program, providing fundingtoOntario municipalities on an
annual basis.
The Federal Gas Tax Fundhas becomea consistent and reliable source of funding for
municipalities since it was introduced in 2005. The Cityhas received over $70 million since the
Gas Tax Fund program was established and has been provided funding on an annual basis. The
and this amount was included and applied to
projects as part of the 2019 Capital budget. With this recent Federal announcement, the City
anticipates receivingan additional $7 millionin 2019over and above itsregular allocation.
Staff will be bringing a report back to Council on May 13, 2019 to provide options related to how
this additional funding could be applied to infrastructure related projects in 2019.Since the City
has made progress in recent years in addressing road and underground related infrastructure
needs through the WIP program and by allocating annual Gas Tax Funding to road resurfacing
efforts, it is recommended that options related to the allocation of additional funding be focused
on addressing infrastructure under the culture, tourism, sport, and recreation categories.
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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REPORT:
The City of Kitchener has been a recipient of Federal Gas Tax funding since its inception in
2005. In the early years of the Federal Gas Tax, it was unknown if the funding would be for a
limited time or an ongoing funding stream, but subsequent Federal governments have
continually recommitted to the Federal Gas Tax and have recognized it as an important
contributor to maintaining and improving municipal infrastructure.
Recently, Federal funding commitments to Federal Gas Tax have beenmade in 5-year
increments, the most recent term being from 2014-2018. During that time the Kitchener received
nearly $33million. From its inception in 2005 to the end of 2018, Kitchenerhas received more
than $70 millionin Federal Gas Tax funding. During the next 5-year term (2019-2023), Kitchener
is projected to receive a base allocation of nearly $37 millionin Federal Gas Tax funding.
The use of Federal Gas Tax funding was originally restricted to engineering infrastructure (e.g.
roads, water, and sewer), but in 2014 the eligible categories listing wasexpanded to include
other types of infrastructure. The current list of eligible categories includes:
public transitshort-line rail
wastewater infrastructureshort-sea shipping
drinking waterdisaster mitigation
solid waste managementbroadband and connectivity
community energy systemsbrownfield redevelopment
local roads and bridgesculture
capacity buildingtourism
highwayssport
local and regional airportsrecreation
Through the 2019 Federal budget, the Government of Canada committed to make an additional
one-time, supplementary transfer of Federal Gas Tax funding to municipalities. Specifically,
page 80 of the budget document includes the following:
Because many municipalities across Canada continue to face serious infrastructure
deficits, Budget 2019 proposes a one-time transfer of $2.2 billion through the federal Gas
Tax Fund to address short-term priorities in municipalities and First Nation communities.
19 and will
provide much needed infrastructure funds for communities of all sizes, all across the
country.
Troximately $7million, so based
on the language in Budget 2019, Kitchener can expect to receive an additional $7 million(or $14
millionin total) to help address infrastructure in the near term.
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Specific details,such as the timing of the additional transfer, have not yet been provided to
municipalities. That type of detailed information will flow to Ontario municipalities through AMO.
In the meantime, this report is being provided to make Council aware of:
1)The additional Federal Gas Tax funding,and
th
2)SCommittee meetings to
provide some options on how the funding could be allocated.
Staff will be developing some recommended criteria for Council to consider to help determine
the best potential useof these additional funds. This criteria will be included as part of the report
th
provided to Committee on May 13.It is anticipated that the options brought forwardfor
considerationwill align under the culture, tourism, sport, and recreation categories.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The
the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The additional $7 millionof Federal Gas Tax funding will be allocated to capital projects based
on further discussion with Council.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM
council / committee meeting.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jonathan Lautenbach, Chief Financial Officer, Financial Services
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