One of the big issues at the AMO conference in Ottawa this week, is the provincial plan to cut it’s annual funding to some municipalities.
Owen Sound is receiving just over two million dollars a year in transfer payments to help it pay for services that were downloaded by the province several years ago.
However, those transfer payments are due to disappear after this year and Owen Sound councillor Arlene Wright says the impact on our taxes could be dramatic.
If Queens Park pulls the plug on funding, property taxes could jump by 10 per cent next year.
Wright says city Manager Jim Harrold has been talking with Ministry of Finance officials at the AMO conference, looking for alternatives to the funding cut.
The province considers Owen Sound a mid-sized community, which wouldn’t qualify for the money , unlike other rural or northern communities.
Wright is hopefull that Finance officials are open to hearing Owen Sound’s concerns, and a compromise can be worked out.