The City of Timmins is receiving an additional $596,662 from the province.
It brings the total amount of COVID-19 relief funding the city has received from upper levels of government to $3.98 million.
Ontario announced the new cash — a total of $500 million for the province's 444 municipalities — today. The announcement says it is to address ongoing COVID-19 operating costs, help ensure the delivery of critical services and keep capital projects on track.
"Our municipalities have been clear that they need ongoing operating funding in 2021, and it's important that we step up and provide more financial relief. At the same time, we need the federal government to join us and provide our municipal partners with the additional support they deserve," said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in a news release.
The amount of funding each municipality receives is determined by a base amount using Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) data and an amount based on the proportion of the province's COVID-19 cases in the municipality's health unit region from Jan. 1, 2021, to Feb. 18, 2021.
This cash is in addition to the Safe Restart Agreement funding, which is a partnership between the federal and provincial governments.
There have been two phases of that program.
In the first round of the emergency funding to help municipalities deliver critical services such as public transit and shelters, Timmins received $2,379,000 for the base funding, which was allocated on a per household basis, and $77,512 for transit funding. The city received $930,000 for the second phase.
Earlier this year, Timmins council approved the 2021 budget.
It is a $43.83 million net expenditure, which is $629,566 (1.46 per cent) increase over last year. It is not known what that increase will mean to the average homeowner.
The 2021 water and sewer rate hike was approved earlier this year and will see the average rate (based on a five-room house) increase $50 — $21 for water and $29 for sewer.