Several Lambton County municipalities are getting a total of $3,357,826 in one-time funding from the provincial government.
The county will receive $725,000, St. Clair Township $616,000, Plympton-Wyoming $579,000, Petrolia $539,000, Enniskillen Township $322,000, Point Edward $296,000, and Oil Springs nearly $180,000.
Petrolia's Chief Administrative Officer/Treasurer Rick Charlebois said the Ford government wants to help municipalities modernize service delivery and reduce costs.
He said the unexpected windfall is appreciated.
"We're getting $540,000 and we're going to be getting it very shortly, they said it would be in our bank account within the week," said Charlebois. "They've left it open-ended for anything council decides to spend it on to try and reduce the growth of expenditures going forward."
Charlebois says town staff hope to have recommendations to present to council by May, on how best to use the money.
In all, 405 small and rural municipalities in Ontario are receiving funding.
-With files from Dave Dentinger
