MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County council has instructed administration to allocate $941,702 in funds received through the provincial Municipal Operating Support Transfer (MOST) grant.
The move came by way of motion at a recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The grant program is intended to provide support to municipalities which have experienced significant operating impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The impacts can be in areas such as personal protective equipment, supplemental cleaning, support for vulnerable populations, and replacement of reduced revenues.
Projects approved for allocation of MOST funds include the following:
• Revenue loss from April to September 2020, actual cost totalling $400,910: Lost revenue is determined through a comparison of revenue during the pandemic period compared to the same period in the previous year, members heard.
“This is subject to change as it is currently only reflective of a half year,” administration said in a briefing note to council. “Revenue categories assessed for lost revenue include sales of goods, sales of services, fees and levies, fines and penalties, and return on investment. The reduction in revenue proposed for MOST grant funding does not include any reduction in property taxes collected.”
• 2020 tax incentive, actual cost totalling $240,468: The 2020 tax payment incentive was meant to help ratepayers who are facing financial hardship by offering a one per cent reduction in the total tax bill if paid prior to July 15, and a 0.5 per cent reduction in total tax bill if paid prior to Aug. 15.
• COVID server enhancements, actual cost $21,116: For a successful work-from-home transition, server enhancements were required to increase the capacity of the county’s overall server. “This additional capacity was required to enhance the way remote users were provided with the ability to connect to the county system.”
• COVID-19 expenses, actual cost $26,718: “Additional expenses incurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This project includes minor office modifications to comply with social distancing, PPE and additional cleaning supplies.”
• Community halls at cost of $75,000. This project includes an additional one-time support payment to community halls to offset revenue losses during COVID-19.
• Upgrade office internet from 100 mb to 250 mb at cost of $19,300. This project would improve remote access for working from home. The 250 mb target is related to the maximum throughput limitation of the firewall. This project would also see an increased operating costs of $7,300 annually for increased internet service fees and annual maintenance.
