Lloydminster will be receiving more than $700,000 in pandemic relief funding.
The Saskatchewan and Federal Governments have teamed up for the Safe Restart Program, which will give out a total of $70.32 million across the province to all municipalities. This money is for extra costs being taken on by the RM, town, or city including enhanced health and safety efforts, preparation for future COVID-19 waves and the safe re-opening of economies.
Lloydminster is among the cities receiving money and will get a total of $701,829. Mayor Gerald Aalbers says he’s thankful for the money as it will put the city in a better financial position post-pandemic.
“We know we have expense lines that have increased but have also decreased in other lines because of cost savings and measures taken by City administration. So basically we see that money coming into the city as a revenue line, and we’ll see where it has to be addressed accordingly.”
The city is now just waiting for the Saskatchewan Government to send out the money. From there, the funds could be invested in things like increased sanitization for city facilities, masks and other COVID-19 related costs. Aalbers explains that the City Administration is also always conscious of the budget, which this funding could also assist.
“At the end of the year, we will see where we stand, as the finances [are] hopefully positive rather than negative, but we could be at break-even and this $701,000 would be exactly where it would be put, which would be to ensure for the lost income and the added expenses.”
The province also announced previously that $278 million in municipal revenue sharing has been paid out across the province to support local COVID-19 recovery efforts and priorities this summer.