South Kent Councillor Ryan Doyle is looking to press the Province of Ontario on the topics of highway downloads and fire service funding.
Doyle entered a pair of notices of motion at the Monday, April 7, 2025 Council meeting.
“The Provincial Government downloaded former Provincial Highways to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998 with only enough funding to last approximately three years worth of major capital repairs and no operating funding,” Doyle said in his first motion.
“Over the last two decades, Chatham-Kent property taxpayers have had to pay the burden of both operating and capital repairs to these former Provincial Highways. Municipal inflation cost on road and bridge constructions has averaged approximately 5% above Canada CPI over the last decade.”
Doyle added the financial arrangement that municipalities rely on to serve Ontarians is “increasingly inadequate” to meet the demands of service delivery downloaded onto municipalities.
“AMO and ROMA have repeatedly asked for a new provincial-municipal partnership review of municipal and provincial services funding,” he said.
Doyle is asking administration to prepare a report to Council detailing the former Provincial Highways downloaded to Chatham-Kent, along with the projected cost to operate them and do capital repairs over the next decade.
He’s also asking staff to provide recommendations and a financial advocacy plan for Council to consider in order to request funding from the Province in their 2026-2027 budget.
In his second motion, Doyle is tacking funding for fire services.
“Fire Services has been traditionally funded from Property Taxes in Ontario,” he said in his second motion.
“Over the last decade more and more traditionally Provincial funded services such as homelessness, affordable housing, childcare, long-term care, hospital support, public health, former provincial roads and other provincial downloads have been increasingly forced on municipalities to fund through increasing property taxes.
He added: “Provincial population growth requires more housing and expanding Fire Services across Ontario. The Province funds approximately 50% of Land Ambulance emergency services. The impact of Provincial legislation on the operations and labour costs of Fire Services continues to increase the costs to local property tax payers.”
Similar to his first motion, Doyle said the financial arrangement with the Province is “increasingly inadequate”, adding that Chatham-Kent Fire Services is approaching $20-million annually for operations and capital costs, or over $180 per capita.
Doyle is requesting the Mayor’s office send a letter to the Provincial Government, on behalf of Council, requesting the Province fund 20% of the annual operating and capital cost of Fire Services across Ontario in their upcoming 2025-2026 budget, which would be $4-million annually.
Both motions are set to be on the agenda for the Monday, April 28, 2025 Council meeting.
The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Civic Centre in Chatham.
