FREDERICTON (GNB) – New Brunswick municipalities, rural communities and local service districts (LSDs) will receive a total of $72.9 million in community funding and equalization grants from the provincial government for 2015 which represents an increase of $1.2 million from the previous year.

In addition, Environment and Local Government Minister Brian Kenny released 2015 tax base information for New Brunswick’s municipalities, rural communities and local service districts. 

“Our government continues to work with experts in municipal governance and representatives from municipalities, rural communities and LSDs to give them the tools they need to promote development and become hubs of job creation,” Kenny said. “The Community Funding and Equalization Grant for 2015 is a fair approach to ensuring all communities have the opportunity to be sustainable.”

Despite the province’s financial challenges, the community funding and equalization grant increase is a result of:

  • growth in the value of the core funding component for municipalities and rural communities (increased by $54,098); and
  • an increase to the police equalization component for LSDs and rural communities of $1.15 million as part of the four-year implementation of this grant.

The grant for 2015 will be broken down as follows:

 Municipalities and rural communities

  • Core funding - $12,224,352
  • Newly incorporated and restructured communities - $958,702
  • Equalization component - $53,649,859

Local service districts

  • Core funding - $2,646,623
  • Police equalization component - $3,450,000

“Our government has committed to modernizing the Municipalities Act and we continue to look at ways to work with New Brunswickers to keep moving forward,” Kenny said. “This increase represents an important stream of funding that municipalities can use to address their priorities.”

In 2015, New Brunswick’s total assessment base for municipalities, rural communities and local service districts increased by $1.83 billion or 3.1 per cent over the 2014 base.

The list of Community Funding and Equalization Grants for municipalities and rural communities and the list of municipal tax bases are available online.

 

05-12-14