It is always nice when you find a little money, whether that’s a $5 bill in the pocket of a jacket you haven’t worn for awhile or, in the case of the City of Dauphin, a share of a new $62-million provincial fund announced at the recent Association of Manitoba Municipalities Fall Convention.

The One Manitoba Growth Revenue Fund, will funnel that $62 million to municipalities across the province over the next five years, Premier Wab Kinew said.

“Last year, our government promised to treat municipalities like the true partners that they are and to respect the pressures they are under after years of freezes,” Kinew told municipal officials gathered in Winnipeg for the convention.

“This year, we’re establishing a new fund to provide extra support for programs now and into the future. Together, we’re giving Manitobans reasons to hope with a plan that makes life better across our province.”

With shares of the new fund determined on a per capita basis, for the City of Dauphin it will mean roughly $75,000 in “found money” annually for the next five years, said city manager Sharla Griffiths.

How that money will be used is yet to be determined.

“It’s always great to have some found money and we have a really progressive, exciting and excited council who want to do things,” she said.

“So we might be able to put this money into something special.”

The new fund is part of what Kinew is calling historic funding for municipalities. Budget 2024 provided $221 million in unconditional funding to all municipalities, including a two per cent escalator to the Municipal Operating Grant to help municipalities address rising cost pressures after years of funding freezes worth $4.4 million, the premier said.

However, when considering those years of frozen funding, combined with delays in receiving inflationary increases, the renaming of grant programs and uncertainties around the size and timing of grants, it is not as if the City is awash in discretionary funds.

“While we’re told historic funding, that kind of thing, it’s not like we now have a windfall . . . we’re catching up,” she said.

“But we will always take any money that’s given to us.”

The new growth revenue fund will be in addition to the operating grant. When combined, this increase to municipal funding is equivalent to 7.6 per cent, a $16.8 million guaranteed increase in operating funding for the next year.

It is an indication that the Province of Manitoba  is in the corner of its citizen’s, added Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard.

“True collaboration is about recognizing the challenges of our municipal partners and coming forward with real support to meet those challenges,” Simard said.

“Our new growth revenue fund is focused on helping municipalities deliver for their communities and continuing to offer the quality services Manitobans expect. We’ve got your back.”

In the last year, Simard noted record provincial investments for municipalities include:

• $221 million in unconditional funding to all municipalities including a two per cent escalator to the Municipal Operating Grant to help municipalities address rising cost pressures after years of funding freezes worth $4.4 million;
• $62 million for the One Manitoba Growth Revenue Fund, a historic commitment to municipalities across the province;
• $265,000 in funding to the Swan Valley General Investigation Section (GIS) pilot program as part of the provincial Public Safety Strategy;
• $42 million for the new Manitoba Growth, Renewal and Opportunities for Municipalities (Manitoba GRO) program, which provides dedicated capital project funding for municipalities outside Winnipeg;
• $4 million in additional funding to the Manitoba Water Services Board, which increases its funding to $24 million to support water and sewerage projects;
• $500,000 to the Municipality of Virden to support the expansion and renovation of Virden Regional Airport;
• $47 million to complete the rehabilitation of the Rivers Dam; and
• $19.6 million for the Souris bridge crossing.