Sarnia's mayor is pleased the city is getting over $3 million in COVID-19 emergency funding.
The province announced Wednesday that $1.6 billion is being shared among Ontario's 444 municipalities in the first round of the federal safe restart agreement.
Mayor Mike Bradley said the one-time assistance will help municipalities protect the health and wellbeing of residents and assist in the delivery of critical public services like transit and shelters.
"City council took some very difficult actions back in April, where we cut almost $2 million in our costs," said Bradley. "So, by doing those actions, we've actually been running a small surplus and this will help us cover some of the costs that we didn't think would be recovered, it will help us with transit, it will also position us very well as we head into the fall where there's a lot of apprehension about the second wave and the impacts on communities."
Sarnia's $3.1 million in funding includes $1.1 million specifically dedicated to Sarnia Transit.
"We took the decision not to collect fares for a long period of time. That was the right thing to do. We also had to put up a lot of investment into changing the buses and keeping them clean. The fact that I don't believe any COVID cases have been traced to the bus system is a testament to the work that staff did."
The County of Lambton is getting just over $3.6 million, which Mayor Bradley said will assist some other city organizations.
"Counties are receiving that money because they're in charge of social services, the homeless and other related issues," he said. "So, that was expected there would be a substantial boost into their coffers to cover those costs. The number of homeless people, particularly in the urban area, has risen significantly in the last few months. So, that money will be directed into dealing with that issue."
In total, $8,334,517 is being directed to local communities in Lambton County. Here's the breakdown:
Lambton County -- $3,604,000
Sarnia -- $2,033,600 with an additional $1,103,777 to support transit operations.
Lambton Shores -- $458,500
St. Clair Township -- $391,800
Plympton-Wyoming -- $217,400
Petrolia -- $150,600
Warwick -- $89,400
Enniskillen -- $68,500
Brooke-Alvinston -- $63,500
Point Edward -- $58,900 with an additional $23,240 to support transit operations.
Dawn-Euphemia -- $53,500
Oil Springs -- $18,400
“Our government knows that the success of our municipalities is vital to our economic recovery," said Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey. "We will continue working hand-in-hand with municipalities to ensure they can emerge stronger than ever and continue to keep all Ontarians safe."
