: Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund 2010 Technical Guide

Table of contents

Introduction
2010 Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund
2010 Combined Benefit
Transitional Assistance
Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review (PMFSDR)
Upload Benefit To Municipalities
Ontario’s Commitment To Municipalities
Data and Benchmark Updates for 2010
The Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund: Grants and Components
I. Social Programs Grant
1. Assessment Threshold Component
2. Income Threshold Component
II. Equalization Grant
1. Assessment Equalization Grant Component
2. Farmland and Managed Forest Assessment Grant Component
III. Northern and Rural Communities Grant
1. Rural Communities Grant Component
2. Northern Communities Grant Component
3. Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component
4. Stabilization Grant Component
IV. Police Services Grant
Transitional Assistance
Implementation
Municipal Workbook
Social Programs Cost Report
Municipal Tier Distribution of Funding
Additional Information
Appendices
Appendix A — Definitions
Appendix B — Data Sources
Appendix C — Summary of Refinements and Updates

Introduction

This guide outlines the grant parameters for the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF), and summarizes the updates and refinements introduced in 2010. It is intended to provide a technical overview of the funding model.

2010 ONTARIO MUNICIPAL PARTNERSHIP FUND

The OMPF assists municipalities with their social program costs, includes equalization measures, addresses challenges faced by northern and rural communities, and responds to policing costs in rural communities. The OMPF replaced the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) in 2005 as the province’s main transfer payment to municipalities.

The OMPF continues to remain responsive to changing municipal circumstances such as updates in assessment, households or policing costs. Consistent with this key principle, the 2010 OMPF social programs grants have been adjusted to reflect the reduction in municipal costs from the uploads of the Ontario Drug Benefit Program (ODB), Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) administration, and the phased upload of ODSP and Ontario Works (OW) benefits that resulted from the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review (PMFSDR).

$25 million in targeted transitional assistance will also be provided in 2010 to eligible municipalities throughout the province.

2010 Combined Benefit

In 2010, the government will provide $1.2 billion to 406 municipalities through the combined benefit of the OMPF plusreduced municipal costs from the uploads of ODB, ODSP administration and the phased upload of ODSP and OW benefits.

• 2010 OMPF: 382 municipalities will receive $625 million.
• 2010 Uploads: 201 upper- and single-tier municipalities responsible for social assistance benefit program costs will see an estimated $570 million reduction in these costs.

This combined benefit represents a 26 per cent increase over the combined benefit announced for 2009 and a 93 per cent increase over the funding provided in 2004 under the previous program, the CRF.

	2004	2009	2010
CRF/OMPF	$618 million	$704 million	$625 million
Uploaded Social Assistance Benefit Program Costs		$245 million	$570 million
Total Combined Benefit	$618 million	$949 million	$1,195 million
Year-over-Year Increase	–	$79 million 9%	$246 million 26%
Increase Since 2004	–	$331 million 54%	$577 million 93%

Transitional Assistance

$25 million in targeted transitional assistance will be provided in 2010 only. This assistance is designed to ensure that eligible municipalities receive a guaranteed level of support based on the combined benefit of both OMPF and provincial uploads received in 2009. The assistance is targeted so that the guarantee for northern municipalities will be set at a higher level.

PROVINCIAL-MUNICIPAL FISCAL AND SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW (PMFSDR)

On October 31, 2008, the province, along with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the City of Toronto, released the consensus Report of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review (PMFSDR), “Facing the Future Together”.

As a result of the PMFSDR, municipalities are benefiting from the government’s decision to upload social assistance benefit program costs off the property tax base.

In 2010, the province will begin the phased upload of:

• Ontario Disability Support Program benefit costs; and
• Ontario Works benefit costs.

This builds on the government’s previous uploads of:

• Ontario Drug Benefits in 2008; and
• Ontario Disability Support Program administration costs in 2009.

Upload Benefit To Municipalities

201 upper- and single-tier municipalities will see an estimated $570 million reduction in social assistance benefit program costs in 2010.

Program	2010 Upload Benefit
ODB	$168 million
ODSP Administration	$86 million
ODSP Benefits (50% uploaded in 2010)	$303 million
OW Benefits (3% uploaded in 2010)	$13 million
Total 2010 Upload Benefit	$570 million

In addition, the uploads committed to through the PMFSDR include up to $125 million annually in court security costs.

This commitment will result in a significant level of stability for the municipal sector. Once fully implemented, these uploads will result in a net benefit to municipalities of $1.5 billion annually.

For further information on the PMFSDR report, see:

www.ontario.ca/provincialmunicipalreview

Ontario’s Commitment To Municipalities

By 2018, the province will have increased ongoing annual support for municipalities to more than $3.8 billion, an increase of over $2.7 billion, or more than 250 per cent, compared to 2003. This support, in addition to the OMPF, includes:

• uploading the municipal share of ODB effective January 1, 2008;
• uploading the municipal share of ODSP administration effective January 1, 2009;
• starting in 2010, uploading the municipal share of ODSP benefits over two years;
• starting in 2010, uploading the municipal share of OW benefits over nine years;
• starting in 2012, uploading the cost of court security over seven years, to a maximum of $125 million annually, at maturity;
• increasing the provincial share of public health costs from 50 per cent in 2004 to 75 per cent in 2007;
• providing $391 million in additional land ambulance funding since 2006 to maintain 50:50 cost-sharing; and
• providing $321 million in gas tax funding in the 2008–09 program year, for a total of more than $1.7 billion by 2010.
    

 

In addition, the 2009 Budget provided:

• $32.5 billion for infrastructure investments over two years to stimulate economic growth, create short- and long-term jobs, and help Ontario families both now and in the future. This includes $3.4 billion in joint federal-provincial-municipal funding for communities across Ontario to fund nearly 1,400 key infrastructure projects that will create jobs and help stimulate local economies (the provincial share of this funding is approximately $1.13 billion).

Other major municipal infrastructure investments include:

• $1.1 billion under the Investing in Ontario Act, announced in fall 2008.
• $1 billion in infrastructure funding, announced in the 2008 Ontario Budget.

 DATA AND BENCHMARK UPDATES FOR 2010

To ensure that the OMPF remains up to date and responsive to changing local circumstances, data elements such as weighted assessment, tax revenue, households, and social program costs have been updated to reflect the most recent data available prior to the annual release of the program (see Appendix B).

In addition, select OMPF grant benchmarks and thresholds have been refined in order to reflect year-over-year changes in assessment and other OMPF data elements.

Threshold/Benchmark Updates	2009	2010
I.        Social Programs Grant
Reinvestment of National Child Benefit savings	included	included where investments are maintained
ODB costs for social assistance recipients	uploaded by province	uploaded by province
ODSP administration costs	uploaded by province	uploaded by province
ODSP benefit costs	included	included/phased upload started
OW benefit costs	included	included/phased upload started
Assessment Based Percentage of weighted assessment	0.165%	0.156%
II.      Equalization Grant
Assessment Equalization
Average assessment per household	$202,000	$213,000
Funding for each $10,000 in assessment value	$48	$47
III.    Northern and Rural Communities Grant
Northern and Rural Social Programs Percentage of tax revenue	12.0%	11.5%
Stabilization Per household limit	$150	$85

See Appendix C for a detailed summary of refinements and updates to the program since 2005.

THE ONTARIO MUNICIPAL PARTNERSHIP FUND: GRANTS AND COMPONENTS

The combined benefit of $1.2 billion in 2010 includes $625 million in OMPF funding through the following:

I. Social Programs Grant — $84 Million

Provides funding to assist municipalities with limited property assessment and lower household income to support the municipal share of social program costs through two components:

1. Assessment Threshold — $73 million
2. Income Threshold — $11 million

II. Equalization Grant — $197 Million

Provides funding to municipalities with limited property assessment through two components:

1. Assessment Equalization — $150 million
2. Farmland and Managed Forest Assessment — $47 million

III. Northern And Rural Communities Grant — $262 Million

Provides funding to northern and rural communities to recognize their unique challenges through four components:

1. Rural Communities — $158 million
2. Northern Communities — $84 million
3. Northern and Rural Social Programs — $7 million
4. Stabilization — $13 million

IV. Police Services Grant — $82 Million

Provides funding to rural communities to support policing costs.

I. Social Programs Grant

This grant provides funding to municipalities to help offset the municipal share of social program costs through two components:

1. Assessment Threshold Component

This component provides funding to municipalities with limited property assessment to support the municipal share of eligible social program costs (for a definition of eligible costs, see Appendix A). Funding is provided to municipalities whose costs for these programs exceed the revenue that could be raised by levying a 0.156 per cent property tax rate on their assessment base.

This grant assists municipalities in meeting the municipal portion of the established cost-sharing arrangements for social programs. The province will continue to fund its portion of the cost-shared programs, as well as provide additional funding through the OMPF to help municipalities pay for their share of these arrangements.

Distribution: The Assessment Threshold Component is distributed to upper- and single-tier municipalities.

2. Income Threshold Component

This grant component provides funding to municipalities with high social program costs relative to the household incomes of their residents. As with the other social programs grant components, this component is designed to support the municipal share of eligible social program costs (for a definition of eligible costs, see Appendix A).

Funding of up to $80 per household is provided to municipalities whose net social program costs exceed 0.60 per cent of the total household incomes of their residents.

This grant assists municipalities in meeting the municipal portion of the established cost-sharing arrangements for social programs. The province will continue to fund its portion of the cost-shared programs, as well as provide additional funding through the OMPF to help municipalities pay for their share of these arrangements.

Distribution: The Income Threshold Component is distributed to upper- and single-tier municipalities.

II. Equalization Grant

This grant provides funding to municipalities that have limited property assessment through two components:

1. Assessment Equalization Grant Component

This component provides funding to municipalities with limited property assessment due to lower property values and limited non-residential assessment. Municipalities will receive funding if their total assessment per household is less than $213,000.

An overall assessment differential for each eligible municipality is calculated to determine the grant amount.

If a municipality has a total assessment per household of less than $213,000, it will receive funding based on the following scale:

Distribution: The Assessment Equalization Grant Component is distributed to lower- and single- tier municipalities.

2. Farmland and Managed Forest Assessment Grant Component

This component provides funding to municipalities with limited property assessment due to a significant amount of farmland and managed forest properties.

The grant provides funding equivalent to 300 per cent of the municipal revenue generated from farmland and managed forest assessment where these properties comprise 20 per cent or more of the municipality’s tax base. Municipalities that have between five per cent and 20 per cent of their tax base made up of these properties receive a portion of this funding on a sliding scale.

Farmland and Managed Forest Assessment Grant Component
Taxes generated by farmland and managed forest properties (%)	5	7.5	10	12.5	15	17.5	20+
Taxes allocated as grant funding (%)	0	50	100	150	200	250	300

Distribution: This grant is distributed to upper-, lower- and single-tier municipalities. It provides funding of up to 300 per cent of these municipalities’ respective share of revenue generated from these properties.

III. Northern and Rural Communities Grant

This grant provides funding to northern and rural communities in recognition of the unique challenges they face.

To support this grant, a Rural and Small Community Measure has been calculated for each municipality to determine the proportion of its population residing in rural areas or small communities (see Appendix A).

The grant has four components:

1. Rural Communities Grant Component

This component provides funding to municipalities based on the proportion of their population residing in rural areas or small communities.

Municipalities with a Rural and Small Community Measure of 75 per cent or more receive the full per-household amount of $156. Municipalities with a Rural and Small Community Measure between 25 per cent and 75 per cent receive a portion of this funding on a sliding scale.

Rural Communities Grant Component
Rural and Small Community Measure (%)	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60	65	70	75+
Per household amount ($)	0	15.60	31.20	46.80	62.40	78.00	93.60	109.20	124.80	140.40	156.00

Distribution: The Rural Communities Grant Component is distributed to lower- and single-tier municipalities.

2. Northern Communities Grant Component

This component provides funding to all municipalities in northern Ontario (see Appendix A) based on the number of households. The grant per household is $235.

Distribution: The Northern Communities Grant Component is distributed to all northern municipalities.

3. Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component

This component establishes a limit on the share of municipal tax revenue needed to support the municipal share of eligible social program costs in northern and rural communities (see Appendix A).

Funding is provided if the municipal share of eligible social program costs (net of the Social Programs Grant) exceeds a threshold of 11.5 per cent of municipal tax revenue.

All northern municipalities are eligible for this grant if their social program costs exceed the threshold.

Municipalities that are not in the north are eligible to receive the full amount of funding available through this grant component if they have a Rural and Small Community Measure of 75 per cent or greater and their social program costs are greater than the threshold. Municipalities with a Rural and Small Community Measure between 25 per cent and 75 per cent receive a portion of this funding on a sliding scale.

Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component
Rural and Small Community Measure (%)	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60	65	70	75+
Residual social program costs funded (%)	0	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100

For northern and rural communities, this grant provides additional funding to complement the support provided through the Social Programs Grant.

Distribution: The Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component is distributed to upper- and single-tier municipalities.

4. Stabilization Grant Component

This component provides funding to municipalities that would otherwise see decreases more than a specified per household amount relative to funding received in 2007. For 2010, the per household amount has been set at $85.

This grant component has been calculated based on the 2010 combined benefit.

Distribution: The Stabilization Grant Component is distributed to upper-, lower- and single-tier municipalities.

IV. Police Services Grant

This grant provides funding to rural communities to support eligible policing costs (for definition, see Appendix A).

For municipalities with a Rural and Small Community Measure of 75 per cent or more, this grant provides funding equal to:

• 50 per cent of eligible policing costs between $150 and $750 per household, and
• 75 per cent of eligible policing costs above $750 per household.

Municipalities with a Rural and Small Community Measure between 25 per cent and 75 per cent receive a portion of this funding on a sliding scale.

Police Services Grant
Rural and Small Community Measure (%)	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60	65	70	75+
Eligible costs above $150 threshold, up to $750, allocated as funding (%)	0	5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45	50
Eligible costs above $750 threshold allocated as funding (%)	0	7.5	15.0	22.5	30.0	37.5	45.0	52.5	60.0	67.5	75.0

For municipalities with a Rural and Small Community Measure of less than 75 per cent, the Police Services Grant will be calculated as 50 per cent of their 2002 eligible per household policing costs between $150 and $750, and 75 per cent for costs above $750 — where this approach generates a greater amount than under the standard calculation detailed above. This is incorporated as a transitional measure that applies to only a small number of municipalities.

Distribution: The Police Services Grant is distributed to those municipalities that provide policing services.

Transitional Assistance

$25 million in targeted transitional assistance will be provided in 2010.

Transitional assistance is designed to ensure that eligible municipalities receive a guaranteed level of support based on the combined benefit of both OMPF grants and provincial uploads received in 2009. The assistance is targeted so that the guarantee for municipalities in the north is set at a higher level.

For municipalities outside the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the guaranteed level of support will be at least 80 per cent of the municipality’s 2009 combined benefit. For northern communities, the guaranteed level of support will be at least 95 per cent of the municipality’s 2009 combined benefit.

Transitional assistance will also ensure that no municipality will see a decrease in their combined benefit of larger than $2.5 million in 2010.

2010 Transitional Assistance Guarantee Level
Geographic Designation	Guarantee as % of 2009 Combined Benefit
Southern Ontario (outside the GTA)	80%
Northern Ontario	95%

Distribution: Transitional Assistance is distributed to upper-, lower- and single-tier municipalities.

IMPLEMENTATION

OMPF allocations are announced annually in time to support the municipal budget planning process, and payments are flowed in quarterly installments to municipalities. All OMPF allocations are provided to municipalities as unconditional grants.

The Ministry of Finance calculates municipal allocations based on a defined set of data elements (see Appendix B).

Data elements are stable or live. The “stable” data elements are established prior to the annual release of allocations (e.g., assessment data and number of households). Stable data elements are based on the most recent data sets available prior to the allocation year.

A limited number of data elements will be “live” throughout the allocation year. Live data elements will be updated to capture both increases and decreases in costs (e.g., policing costs and social program costs). This will result in adjustments to the Social Programs Grant, the Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component, and the Police Services Grant.

Municipal Workbook

To assist municipalities in understanding their OMPF allocation, the Ministry of Finance has developed a Municipal Workbook that is released to municipalities following the announcement of annual OMPF allocations.

The Municipal Workbook provides detailed grant calculations and includes updated program cost and demographic information used to calculate each OMPF grant component.

Social Programs Cost Report

To assist municipalities in anticipating the impact of social program cost changes on their OMPF allocation, the Ministries of Finance, Community and Social Services, and Children and Youth Services have developed a Social Programs Costs Report that is released to municipal service managers and municipalities following the announcement of annual OMPF allocations.
The Social Programs Cost Report provides details on:

• actual and projected social program costs for each municipal service manager;
• actual and projected social program costs for municipalities, based on inter-municipal cost-sharing agreements;
• social program costs used in the calculation of OMPF allocations; and
• details related to provincial uploads of municipal social assistance benefit program costs.

MUNICIPAL TIER DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDING

Funding provided through the OMPF is distributed to upper-, lower- and single-tier municipalities based on the level of government that is responsible for the service supported by the grant or grant component:

Tier Distribution of Funding	Upper-Tier	Lower-Tier	Single-Tier
I.        Social Programs Grant
1. Assessment Threshold	x		x
2. Income Threshold	x		x
II.      Equalization Grant
1. Assessment Equalization		x	x
2. Farmland and Managed Forest Assessment	x	x	x
III.    Northern and Rural Communities Grant
1. Rural Communities		x	x
2. Northern Communities			x
3. Northern and Rural Social Programs	x		x
4. Stabilization	x	x	x
IV.     Police Services Grant	x	x	x

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This Technical Guide and other 2010 OMPF supporting materials are posted in English and French on the Ministry of Finance website at:

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

If you require additional information regarding your 2010 OMPF allocation, you may e-mail your inquiries and your contact phone number to:

info.ompf@ontario.ca

Alternatively, you may contact your local Municipal Services Office of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing:

Municipal Services Offices Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
CENTRAL: 777 Bay Street, 2nd Floor Toronto ON M5G 2E5	General Inquiry: (416) 585-6226 Toll Free: 1-800-668-0230 Fax: (416) 585-6882
WESTERN: 659 Exeter Road, 2nd Floor London ON N6E 1L3	General Inquiry: (519) 873-4020 Toll Free: 1-800-265-4736 Fax: (519) 873-4018
EASTERN: Rockwood House, 8 Estate Lane Kingston ON K7M 9A8	General Inquiry: (613) 548-4304 Toll Free: 1-800-267-9438 Fax: (613) 548-6822
NORTHWESTERN: 435 James St. S., Suite 223 Thunder Bay ON P7E 6S7	General Inquiry: (807) 475-1651 Toll Free: 1-800-465-5027 Fax: (807) 475-1196
NORTHEASTERN: 159 Cedar Street, Suite 401 Sudbury ON P3E 6A5	General Inquiry: (705) 564-0120 Toll Free: 1-800-461-1193 Fax: (705) 564-6863

APPENDICES

Appendix A — Definitions

Eligible Municipal Social Program Costs

Eligible municipal social program costs refer to the costs that municipalities are responsible for under existing cost-sharing arrangements with the province. Social programs that are eligible for inclusion in determining a municipality’s total social program costs for the OMPF include:

• Ontario Works income support: 19.4 per cent (adjusted from 20 per cent to reflect phased provincial upload)
• Ontario Works administration: 50 per cent
• Ontario Disability Support Program income support: 10 per cent (adjusted from 20 per cent to reflect phased provincial upload)
• Child Care: 20 per cent of costs of child care programs, 50 per cent of administration
• Social Housing: 100 per cent of the devolved costs as of 2002
• National Child Benefit: reinvestment of municipal savings. These municipal reinvestments will continue to be recognized as eligible social program costs at 2007 levels, after the introduction of the Ontario Child Benefit initiative in July 2008, if municipal spending on these programs continues.

Upload Benefit to Municipalities

In 2008, the province fully uploaded ODB costs and uploaded ODSP administration costs in 2009. In 2010 the province will begin the phased upload of ODSP and OW program benefit program costs. Changing municipal cost shares are noted below.

		Municipal Cost Shares
Program	Upload Status	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2018
ODB	Upload Completed in 2008	20%	0%
ODSP Administration	Upload Completed in 2009	50%	50%	0%
ODSP Benefits	Phased upload begins in 2010 (will be completed in 2011)	20%	20%	20%	10%	0%
OW Benefits	Phased upload begins in 2010 (will be completed in 2018)	20%	20%	20%	19.4%	18.8%	0%

Eligible Police Costs

Eligible police costs include policing services provided by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) or a local force to meet the service standards defined in the Police Services Act.

Non-eligible police costs include bylaw enforcement and cases where service levels exceed those required by the Police Services Act.

Northern Municipality

Northern municipalities are those that lie within any of the following districts: Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timiskaming.

Assessment

In this document, assessment refers to the total assessment for a municipality weighted by the tax ratio for each class of property plus payments-in-lieu of property taxes (PILs) made by either the provincial or federal government. (An equivalent PIL assessment is calculated by dividing actual PIL revenues by the residential tax rate in each municipality.)

Rural and Small Community Measure

The Rural and Small Community Measure represents the proportion of a municipality’s population residing in rural areas or small communities. This approach recognizes that some municipalities include a mix of rural and non-rural areas.

The measure is based on Statistics Canada data from the 2006 Census and is calculated as follows:

1. Statistics Canada divides municipalities into small geographic areas, typically less than a few hundred residents.
2. These areas are classified by Statistics Canada as rural areas or small communities if they meet one of the following conditions:
   
   
   • they have a population density of less than 400 per square kilometre
   • they have a population density of greater than 400 per square kilometre but cannot be grouped with other adjacent areas (each also with a population density of greater than 400 per square kilometre), to produce a total population concentration greater than 1,000, or
   • they are not economically integrated with a population centre of greater than 10,000 (See Note 1).
3. The Rural and Small Community Measure is determined by calculating the proportion of a municipality’s population residing in areas that are classified as either rural or part of a small community.

 
Note 1:      OMPF calculations incorporate a minor adjustment to Statistics Canada’s                    classification of “small community.” This adjustment provides a transition     between the small community and urban center classification for areas with          a population between 10,000 and 12,000 and is made on a sliding scale:

Percentage of Area Population Included as a Small Community
Area population	10,000	10,500	11,000	11,500	12,000
Percentage	100	75	50	25	0

Appendix B — Data Sources

Data	Year	Source
Live Program Costs
Social Assistance Child Care	2010 projections based on 2009 actuals and service contract amounts, and 2009 inter-municipal cost shares	Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH)
Reinvestment of National Child Benefit Savings	Based on 2007 levels where municipal investments are maintained	MCSS/MCYS/MMAH
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)	2010 projected costs based on 2008 actuals	OPP
Municipal Police	2010 projected costs based on 2008 actuals	Projection based on municipal Financial Information Returns (FIR)
Other Program Costs
Social Housing	2002 devolved costs and 2009 inter-municipal cost shares	MCSS/MMAH
Weighted Assessment	2010 returned roll and 2010 starting tax ratios	Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and municipal tax rate bylaws
Farmland and Managed Forest Tax Revenue	2009 year-end data from 2010 Market Change Profile (MCP) and 2009 tax rates
Own Purpose Taxation Payments in Lieu Revenues	2008	Municipal FIR
Demographic & Income Data
Number of Households	2009	MPAC Enumeration
Rural and Small Community Measure	2006	Census, Statistics Canada
Total Household Income	2006	Census, Statistics Canada

Appendix C — Summary of Refinements and Updates

The following table summarizes the refinements and updates to OMPF grant parameters:

Threshold/Benchmark Updates	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
I.   Social Programs Grant
Reinvestment of National Child Benefit savings	not included	included	included	included	included	included where investments are maintained
ODB costs for social assistance recipients	included	included	included	uploaded by province	uploaded by province	uploaded by province
ODSP administration costs	included	included	included	included	uploaded by province	uploaded by province
ODSP benefit costs	included	included	included	included	included	included/phased upload started
OW benefit costs	included	included	included	included	included	included/phased upload started
1. Assessment Based Percentage of weighted assessment	0.20%	0.18%	0.178%	0.176%	0.165%	0.156%
2. Income Based Per household limit	n/a	$35	$80	$80	$80	$80
Average income threshold	n/a	0.75%	0.75%	0.75%	0.60%	0.60%
II.  Equalization Grant
1. Assessment Equalization Average Assessment per household	$170,000	$185,000	$187,000	$190,000	$202,000	$213,000
Funding for each 10,000 in assessment value	$62	$60	$58	$54	$48	$47
2. Farmland and Managed Forest Assessment	Single-tier: up to 150% of single-tier revenue Lower-tier: up to 150% of total upper- and lower tier revenue Upper-tier: Not eligible	Single-, lower- and upper-tier: up to 300% of their respective revenues	Single-, lower- and upper-tier: up to 300% of their respective revenues	Single-, lower- and upper-tier: up to 300% of their respective revenues	Single-, lower- and upper-tier: up to 300% of their respective revenues	Single-, lower- and upper-tier: up to 300% of their respective revenues
III.    Northern and Rural Social Programs Grant Component
1. Rural Communities Per household funding	$150	$153	$156	$156	$156	$156
2. Northern Communities Per household funding	$225	$230	$235	$235	$235	$235
3. Northern and Rural Social Programs Percentage of tax revenue	15%	14%	13%	12.5 %	12%	11.5%
4. Stabilization      (hh=household)	$150/hh relative to 2004 CRF and based on 2005 funding levels	$150/hh relative to 2004 CRF and based on 2006 funding levels	$150/hh relative to 2004 CRF and based on 2007 funding levels	$150/hh relative to 2004 CRF and based on 2008 funding levels	$150/hh relative to 2004 CRF and based on 2009 funding levels	$85/hh relative to 2007 OMPF and based on 2010 funding levels