The City of Windsor estimates new provincial funding will cut its budget shortfall in half.
Last week, the province announced Windsor would get $8.1-million in COVID-19 financial relief. Now, it will get another $5.1-million from phase two of the Municipal Relief Fund and $6.1-million to support Transit Windsor.
"We know that significant risks to our 2021 budget still exist as we continue to experience a number of potential unanticipated costs in order to address the impacts of the ongoing pandemic," said Chief Financial Officer Joe Mancina. "Simply put, we are not out of the woods just yet."
Municipal officials said they would continue to advocate for additional financial relief from the federal and provincial governments.
Last year, the city received funding to make up for shortfalls at the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel and the Windsor International Airport. Caesars Windsor is another source of lost revenue. It has been closed for most of the past year.
However, Mayor Drew Dilkens expressed his relief the province is coming through with the new grants.
"We always knew that funding would be provided in small individual grants -- we just didn't expect the Province of Ontario to respond this quickly," he said. "We still have at least a $19-million deficit to mitigate, and the City of Windsor is committed to doing its part to find further internal savings, but we will likely still need further support from the federal government."
Since last March, ridership on Transit Windsor has fallen precipitously, down 84 per cent.
In announcing the grant for public transit, Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls said, "as the push to become more environmentally friendly increases -- having a transit system that can support larger populations is essential. We need to ensure these systems are able to function and be profitable as we return back to normal."
Public transit in Leamington will receive $23,137.