Peel Region is raising its tax levy target for next year to deal with the impact of provincial funding reductions.

During a July 11 meeting, council members were presented with proposed strategies to address the estimated $36.4 million impact of provincial funding cuts on the 2020 regional budget and agreed to have finance staff target a 3.9 per cent net tax levy.

Council had previously instructed staff to work towards a 2.9 per cent levy.

Norman Lum, Director of Business and Financial Planning, presented a report that recommended the revised 3.9 per cent tax levy increase and highlighted provincial funding cuts that will impact service levels for paramedic services, long-term care, employment services and child care.

The $36.4 million impact was broken down into two general categories: a $25.3 million decrease in funding to the region, and a change in cost-sharing with the province of $11.1 million.

The reduction in direct funding is expected to hurt child care, paramedic, long-term care and employment service levels ⁠and the change to cost-sharing would impact public health, and external services like Peel Regional Police and the OPP.

“Although the province has reversed many of its retroactive funding cuts on the 2019 budget, these funding cuts are expected to be implemented in 2020,” reads a report from Stephen VanOfwegen, Commissioner of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Peel.

According to Lum, there have been impacts totalling $8.8 million to paramedic services, long-term care, homelessness prevention, and public health cost-shared funding reduction.

For the 2019 year-end, instead of forecasting what would be otherwise a $6.7 million surplus, region-controlled tax-supported programs are forecast a deficit of $2.7 million due in part to funding changes by the province.

Paramedic services will experience provincial revenue shortfall of $4.9 million as its funding is being held at its level for 2018, which is based off of 2017 service levels.