‘Uploading’ of welfare, court security should ease municipal budgets

Financial relief is on the distant horizon for municipalities across the province after the Ontario government announced plans last week to “upload” costs for both Ontario Works benefits and court security costs.
The announcement came after an agreement between the province, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), and the City of Toronto, and follows the final report issued as part of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review.

“It’s good for the municipalities,” said local Ontario Works manager Shelley Shute, with the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board.
Currently, 80 percent of Ontario Works benefits are paid by the province, with municipalities picking up the other 20 percent.
The uploading process for the Ontario Works program is scheduled to take place in phases, starting in 2010 and ending in 2018.
But come 2010, Shute noted it’s only the general assistance portion of the budget that will be uploaded. The cost of administration, which is split 50/50 between municipalities and the province, will remain.
“Looking at it right now, the municipal’s portion in 2008 for the general assistance budget is $358,850,” Shute said.
If, for example, that budget was the same in 2010, three percent of that amount ($10,765.50) would be covered by the province, she explained. That would be followed by six percent covered the next year ($21,531), 14 percent ($50,239) in 2012, 29 percent ($104,066.50) in 2013, and so on until 100 percent of that budget is provided by the Ontario government come 2018.
“At this point in time, there really is no effect because nothing is going to happen until 2010,” Shute said. “So it’s business as usual.
“The municipalities will continue to directly deliver the Ontario Works program.”
Shute stressed it’s going to be a “long, slow process.”
“As you can imagine, we’re going to be having all kinds of conference calls and things this week coming up,” she noted. “If there’s any additional details on it, we won’t know probably until the next couple of weeks or so because it was just announced.”
Meanwhile, the uploading of the court security costs to the province is something that’s long overdue, said Fort Frances Mayor Roy Avis.
“This is a cost that the Town of Fort Frances has incurred because we have a courthouse located in Fort Frances, and many times it has nothing to do with our municipality other than we have to pay for the services at the courthouse,” he explained.
“So it’s real good news.”
Municipalities across the province have been responsible for court security-related costs since 1990—even shouldering costs for cases that don’t involve local residents if the courthouse serves a region.
Court security costs for Fort Frances currently fall under the town’s overall policing budget, noted Mayor Avis.
“So our policing costs are going to go down, so it’s a saving for the municipality,” he remarked. “It’s a very significant amount of money and it will really help us at budget time.”
But like the Ontario Works benefits, this uploading will take place in phases, beginning in 2012 and continuing on to 2018.
“It should be immediately, and 100 percent immediately, if you want my own personal opinion, but anything is better than nothing,” said Mayor Avis. “It’s good to see, and we just have to wait for it to materialize.”
The Ontario government estimates that by 2018, municipal costs will be reduced by more than $400 million with the uploading of Ontario Works, and a maximum of $125 million with the uploading of court security costs.
An earlier part of the review saw the Ontario government upload the municipal cost share of the Ontario Drug Benefits in 2008. Queen’s Park also will begin uploading Ontario Disability Support Program in 2009 until completion in 2011.
By 2018, the province estimates a net annual benefit to municipalities of more than $1.5 billion compared to 2007 once all these uploads are completed.