Update: Chatham-Kent's council approved on Monday sending a letter to the Premier, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister of Transportation requesting that the cap on the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund be removed for Chatham-Kent.
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The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is once again calling on the province to help address a huge funding gap for transferred roads and bridges.
The province transferred 232 kilometres of roadways, including 56 bridges to the municipality in 1997 and 1998 as part of a cost saving initiative to reduce roadway maintenance costs and now the province is being asked to develop and deliver "a sustainable and predictable" means of assisting municipalities with the upkeep of roads and bridges.
The municipality also plans to send a letter to the Premier, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister of Transportation requesting that the cap on the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund be removed for Chatham-Kent, pending council approval Monday night.
The municipality noted the combined infrastructure gap for all Chatham-Kent roads and bridges/culverts is approximately $678.6 million over the next ten years of planning, an average of $67.8 million per year.
The infrastructure gap for transferred provincial roads is approximately $85.2 million over a ten-year planning horizon or on average $8.5 million per year, according to the municipality, meaning most of the gap falls on bridges and culverts.
"The provincial transfer in 1998 did not consider the local municipality’s ability to pay for increased maintenance/operating costs as well as the capital renewal costs," said administration. "At the time, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent received only $11 million in one time funding, which did not consider the population/tax base realities required to maintain the significant download of additional infrastructure."
The issue will be on the table at council on Monday night.
CK Chief Financial Officer Gord Quinton made a similar request in April 2025 saying provincial funding for supportive housing, affordable housing, roads, bridges, water, wastewater, storm water, emergency services is urgently needed.
At the time, he noted municipal budgets now fund an increasing level of social services and assets that were designed to be the responsibilities of upper levels of government.
Quinton said in many cases, provincial funding has not increased in years and has not kept up to inflation, adding he hopes that the province includes this issue in the Property Tax and Assessment Review that is currently underway.