April 7, 2011
Major Provincial Funding For Abbotsford

ABBOTSFORD – The Province has granted $1,312,125 to Abbotsford as part of a $63.8 million funding infusion to help communities with their spending priorities.

This is being done in three ways:

• Through the Strategic Community Investment Fund (SCIF), communities across B.C. are receiving $30 million in Small Community and Regional District Grants to support investments in basic local government services.
• In this first SCIF instalment for 2011, the Province is also returning $30 million in net traffic fine revenues to eligible municipalities.
• In addition, being green has paid off in more ways than one as local governments will be reimbursed for the carbon taxes they paid in 2010. This amounts to $3.8 million.

Why this matters:

• The Strategic Community Investment Fund was established to stimulate local economies, create jobs and encourage overall growth.
• The Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program reflects the Province’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020 through partnerships with local government.

Quotes

"This funding will ensure we continue to recognize and develop services that best serve Abbotsford and make our community safer." 
-Abbotsford West MLA Michael de Jong

"These programs have helped make communities around B.C. safer by putting more police on our roads and providing more resources for crime prevention."
- Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen 

"Part of the funding infusion comes from net traffic fine revenues, and will help support important public safety initiatives like more police on our streets and increased resources for crime prevention."
-Abbotsford-Mission MLA Randy Hawes

Additional information:

• The Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing program assists municipalities that directly pay police enforcement costs. The grants come from ticket fines and court-imposed fines on violation tickets, and the amount of money a municipality receives is based on its contribution to total municipal policing costs.
• The Small Community and Regional District Grants are unconditional grants to local governments that assist them in providing basic services. Grant amounts are based on a formula that factors in a base amount, population and assessment values.
• On Sept. 24, 2008, the Province announced the Climate Action Revenue Incentive Program to offset the carbon tax for local governments that have signed the B.C. Climate Action Charter. To be eligible for the program, communities are required to report annually on the steps they are taking – and progress they have made – to become carbon neutral by 2012.
• Communities that have signed the Climate Action Charter receive a conditional grant equal to 100 per cent of their carbon tax costs to support their climate change efforts.

Learn more about:

B.C. local governments: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/

Climate Action Charter at:http://www.livesmartbc.ca/community/charter.html

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