RDCK allocates nearly $4 million in ‘growing communities’ grant funding
By Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Nearly $4 million will be injected into local regional district governments through a Provincial fund designed to enable community growth.
Called the Growing Communities Fund, the Regional District of Central Kootenay board of directors approved the allocation of $3,925,000 from the fund, a one-time grant distributed among all of B.C.’s local governments.
“This allocation of funds will enable each service to reduce taxation directly, or indirectly by reducing borrowing, reducing the use of reserve funds of freeing up other grants for other purposes,” said Yev Malloff, RDCK general manager of Finance, IT and Economic Development, in her report to the board on July 20.
The grants support the delivery of infrastructure projects necessary to enable community growth. In all, there are 37 services that received money through the grant, including just over $241,000 to the recreation facilities in Nelson, Castlegar and Creston. The regional parks service — Nelson, Salmo and Areas E, F and G — was given $35,235.
The recycling program ($142,875) and refuse disposal ($100,849) for the Central sub region were given grants, and Emergency communications 911 was awarded $125,000. Rural fire protection services — from East Shore to North Shore, the Slocan Valley, Ymir and between Nelson and Castlegar — were given between $73,885 and $230,235.
An amendment to the RDCK’s 2023-2027 Financial Plan was required to eliminate the variance between actual and budget.
Growing Communities Fund
The Growing Communities Fund provides a one-time total of $1 billion in grants distributed among all of B.C.’s local governments.
Growing Communities Fund grants support the delivery of infrastructure projects necessary to enable community growth.
Grant funding is incremental to currently planned infrastructure and amenity projects and may include related project costs such as early-stage development work.
Projects that aligned with provincial priorities such as CleanBC and childcare, as well with the province’s Environmental, Social and Governance framework for capital projects, were heavily favoured.
Grants were calculated to incorporate a flat amount of $500,000 per municipality or district and amounts calculated from population size and per-capita population growth between 2016 and 2021, based on B.C. Stats data.
Source: Province of B.C.
