Amherstburg council has rejected submitting an application to a $8.8-billion federal-provincial housing grant program, warning it could cost local taxpayers millions.
At a special meeting Monday, staff outlined the program after getting updated details from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing just hours before council met.
To qualify, the town would have had to cut residential development charges by 30 to 50 per cent for three years.
Council heard the grant would only cover costs tied to those reduced development charges, not the full cost of projects, meaning the town could still be on the hook for millions.
An $8.6 million road project in the town’s southeast quadrant, aimed at opening up land for housing, had been considered for submission.
Deputy CAO Melissa Osborne warned the cut to development charges could leave a multi-million dollar gap.
“The town has to make up $3.1 million to $5.3 million in lost development charge revenue that you would have to figure out how to do either as a tax increase to the current residential base, to user fee increases for water and wastewater, and or the elimination of capital projects,” Osbourne said.
Mayor Michael Prue said the program appears to be aimed at larger municipalities.
“This is for big cities. This is for places like Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto where the development charges are over $100,000 each,” Prue said.
“This is not for a little place like this where we have to shave off a small percentage and, you know, people will still have to pay some.”
There were also concerns the savings might not be passed on to homebuyers, prompting councillor Peter Courtney to introduce a motion that the town instead ask senior governments to provide rebates directly to homeowners.
“I would rather see a homeowner in Amherstburg be able to take a closing document, the permits, the [development charges] they paid to the town, submit it to the upper tiers of government and ask for a rebate cheque mailed directly to their house,” Courtney said.
“That’s how the government can support their own initiative and not throw it down and trust us to sacrifice anything at this lower tier of governance.”
Courtney’s motion was unanimously supported by council.