Whereas local governments in BC are increasingly reliant on a wide variety of grant programs to support the delivery of services, programs and projects in their jurisdictions; And whereas the administrative burden of managing increasingly complex criteria and requirements, from application to final reporting, can be overwhelming, time consuming and sometimes prohibitive for some local governments: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM encourage the governments of British Columbia and Canada to coordinate their efforts across all grant program streams to establish more consistent and flexible application criteria and deadlines, simplified reporting requirements and provide funding for the general administration of grant programs.
Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs The ministry administers a range of infrastructure grant programs that support local governments in meeting the needs of their communities. While most are application based, we have looked for opportunities to flow funding that can be used within established criteria. The Growing Communities Fund GCF distributed conditional grants to enabled local governments to make their own decisions about which eligible infrastructure projects will help enable community growth. The Province is a signatory, with UBCM, on the Canada Community Building Fund Community Works Fund which provides an annual transfer for local governments for infrastructure priorities within eligible categories. Application-based programs are designed to enhance a local governments long-term infrastructure plans, while advancing broader provincial and federal goals, which in some cases are to meet regulatory and legislated requirements. It is not the ministrys intention to make applications and reporting burdensome. Enough information is needed in an application to make decisions. Public money requires accountability, and to ensure the funds are spent correctly, reporting is required from successful applicants. Capital funding for local government infrastructure has primarily been delivered through bilateral federal-provincial grant programs that require applications to be approved for funds. Federal administration has increased as compared to past programs. The Province will continue to advocate for more streamlined requirements and processes for future federal-provincial programs. We need to ensure that program criteria are met, and risks are managed through the application process. Project management, including grant reporting, is typically an eligible cost under application-based programs.