Treasurer/Clerk-Treasurer Letter
Ministry of Finance
Provincial-Local Finance Division
Frost Building North
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, ON M7A 1Y7
Ministère des Finances
Division des relations provinciales-municipales en matière de finances
Édifice Frost Nord
95 rue Grosvenor
Toronto, ON M7A 1Y7
November 9, 2022
Dear Treasurer/Clerk-Treasurer:
In the November 9 letter to Heads of Council, the Minister of Finance announced the 2023 Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) municipal allocations. I am writing to provide you with additional information regarding your 2023 municipal OMPF allocation.
The details specific to your municipality’s 2023 allocation are also outlined in the attached 2023 OMPF Allocation Notice and Inserts.
2023 OMPF
For 2023, the government is maintaining the overall structure and $500 million program envelope of the OMPF, while ensuring that the program continues to be responsive to municipal circumstances. This means the core grant components of the program and Transitional Assistance will provide support as outlined below:
- The Assessment Equalization Grant component will provide $149 million to support municipalities with limited property assessment.
- The Rural Communities Grant component will provide $154 million in recognition of the challenges of rural municipalities, including rural farming communities.
- The Northern Communities Grant component will provide $89 million in recognition of the challenges of northern municipalities.
- The Northern and Rural Fiscal Circumstances Grant component will provide $93 million to support northern and rural municipalities with the more challenging fiscal circumstances.
- Consistent with prior years, Transitional Assistance will ensure that municipalities in northern Ontario receive at least 90 per cent of their 2022 OMPF allocation, and municipalities in southern Ontario receive at least 85 per cent. Municipalities in all regions of the province with the most challenging fiscal circumstances will continue to have their funding enhanced up to 100 per cent of the prior year’s allocation.
Additional information on the 2023 OMPF can be found in the accompanying supporting materials.
2023 OMPF — Supporting material
To assist municipalities in understanding the OMPF and their individual 2023 allocations, the Ministry of Finance has prepared detailed and customized supporting documentation:
- 2023 OMPF Allocation Notice and Inserts
- 2023 OMPF Technical Guide
- Municipal Workbooks
A. 2023 OMPF Allocation Notice and Inserts
The OMPF Allocation Notice and Insert outline individual municipal OMPF allocations by grant component, and also provide a summary of key data inputs for 2023. Your municipality’s 2023 funding allocation is noted on line A.
B. 2023 OMPF Technical Guide
The 2023 OMPF Technical Guide provides information with respect to individual grant thresholds, parameters and data sources.
C. 2023 Municipal Workbooks
The 2023 OMPF Workbook and the 2023 Northern and Rural Municipal Fiscal Circumstances Index (MFCI) Workbook (if applicable) provide detailed calculations of the 2023 OMPF grant components, and the determination of the Northern and Rural MFCI, as well as outline all underlying data elements.
These workbooks will be provided electronically to municipal treasurers and clerk-treasurers in the coming weeks.
The 2023 OMPF Technical Guide, as well as individual municipal OMPF Allocation Notices, are also available electronically on the Ministry’s website:
2023 Payment schedule
The 2023 Cash Flow Notice identifies your municipality’s quarterly payment schedule. Payments will be processed at the end of January, April, July, and October 2023. Payments are subject to holdback pending the submission of OMPF reporting requirements.
2023 Reporting obligations
Municipalities are required to submit their 2022 Financial Information Return (FIR) to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) by May 31, 2023.
The Ministry understands that providing details related to your OMPF allocation in a timely manner helps to support your budget planning process. In order to continue to support timely communication of OMPF allocations, the Ministry is requesting that municipalities submit their 2023 tax rates through the Online Property Tax Analysis (OPTA) system or to MMAH by August 31, 2023.
Payments for municipalities that do not meet these reporting obligations may be subject to holdback, beginning with the 2023 fourth quarterly payment, until these documents have been filed.
If you require additional information regarding the OMPF, you may e-mail your inquiries and contact information to: info.ompf@ontario.ca.
In closing, we would like to thank you for your ongoing partnership. We look forward to continuing to work with you on the OMPF.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Mary Iannaci
Assistant Deputy Minister (A)
Provincial-Local Finance Division
c.
Caspar Hall
Assistant Deputy Minister
Local Government Policy Division
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Hannah Evans
Assistant Deputy Minister
Municipal Services Division
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing