The provincial government will be distributing 10 million dollars into operation funding for rural municipalities.
The money is for ongoing critical infrastructure needs.
Municipalities don’t have to apply for the funding.
The money will be given out based on population. Municipalities with a population of fewer than 2 thousand people get $37000, 2-5 thousand gets $61,500, a population of 5001-10000 receives $138500, and 246000 dollars is given to a population of over 10001 people.
Payments will be given out on March 31st, July 31st, and September 30th.
The funding can be used for projects starting anytime during the construction season or can be held in reserve for a number of years to complete larger projects, allowing municipalities to efficiently plan for future infrastructure needs.
The funding is unconditional, meaning it can be used for any projects at any time and stacked with any other funding from the government.
This isn’t the only way the provincial government is supporting municipality infrastructure needs. There will be support by provincial and federal funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, an additional $2 million invested in the Manitoba Water Services Board budget for municipal water and sewer infrastructure, and the provincial sales tax decrease, estimated to save municipalities outside of Winnipeg $1.3 million per year.
