: Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund - Assistant Deputy Minister's Letter (December 09)

Ministry of Finance Provincial-Local Finance Division 10th Floor 777 Bay Street Toronto ON M5G 2C8 Tel (416) 327-0240 Fax (416) 325-7644

Ministère des Finances Division des relations provinciales-municipales en matière de finances 10e étage 777 rue Bay Toronto ON M5G 2C8 Télé.   (416) 327-0240 Téléc. (416) 325-7644

December 15, 2009

Dear Treasurer/Clerk-Treasurer:

This letter follows the recent letter to Heads of Council, from the Ministers of Finance and Municipal Affairs and Housing, announcing the 2010 Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF). Also enclosed are the details of your municipality’s 2010 OMPF allocation.

In 2010, the OMPF will provide $625 million to 382 municipalities across the province. The combined benefit to municipalities through the OMPF and the provincial uploads will total $1.2 billion in 2010. This represents a 26 per cent increase over the 2009 combined benefit.

The increase in the 2010 combined benefit reflects the first phase of the upload of municipal costs for Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW) benefits. This builds on previous uploads of Ontario Drug Benefits (ODB) in 2008 and the administration component of ODSP in 2009.

When all of the uploads are fully implemented, including up to $125 million in court security costs, the net benefit to municipalities will be approximately $1.5 billion annually.

Details of the 2010 OMPF Release

Ministry staff have incorporated updated data elements required to determine 2010 OMPF allocations.

Consistent with the key principle that the OMPF should remain responsive to changes in municipal circumstances, the 2010 OMPF social programs grants for upper- and single-tier municipalities have been adjusted to reflect the reduction in municipal costs for ODSP and OW benefits. 

The OMPF continues to remain responsive to changing municipal circumstances such as updates in assessment, households or policing costs. Specific refinements to grant parameters incorporated in the 2010 OMPF are consistent with previous years’ updates:

• The weighted assessment eligibility threshold for the Social Programs Assessment Threshold Component has been adjusted to 0.156 per cent in 2010 (from 0.165 per cent in 2009), in response to assessment changes.
  
• The total weighted assessment per household threshold under the Assessment Equalization Grant Component has been adjusted to $213,000 in 2010 (from $202,000 in 2009), in response to assessment changes.
  
• The tax revenue threshold for the Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component has been adjusted to 11.5 per cent in 2010 (from 12.0 per cent in 2009) in response to changes in tax revenue. 

2010 OMPF Allocation Notice and Insert

The results for your municipality are provided on the enclosed 2010 OMPF Allocation Notice.  Your municipality’s 2010 OMPF funding allocation is identified on Line C, Total 2010 OMPF Funding. 

For single- and upper-tier municipalities, the additional benefit to your municipality from the social assistance benefit program uploads in 2010 are identified on Lines D2 to D5 of the Notice, and summarized in the Grant Allocation and Upload Summary on the enclosed Insert. Of course the removal of these costs from the common property tax base will also benefit lower-tier taxpayers.

2010 Cash Flow

Also enclosed is the 2010 Cash Flow Notice that identifies the OMPF quarterly payments your municipality will receive. The quarterly payments will be processed at the end of January, April, July, and October, 2010.

2010 Reporting Requirements

I would also like to remind you that, as in previous years, municipalities are required to submit the following to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing:

• their 2009 Financial Information Returns (FIRs) by June 1, 2010;
• their 2010 tax rate by-laws by September 30, 2010; and
• any outstanding 2008 Financial Information Returns (if applicable).                                  

Failure to meet these deadlines may result in the withholding of 2010 OMPF payments until these documents have been provided to the Province.

All 2010 OMPF Allocation Notices and the 2010 Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund Technical Guide will be posted on the Ministry of Finance website:

http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ompf/2010/
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/fr/budget/ompf/2010/

If you require additional information, you may e-mail your inquiries and your contact phone number to: info.ompf@ontario.ca.

Sincerely,

Sriram Subrahmanyan         
Assistant Deputy Minister
Provincial Local Finance Division

Enclosures